I hope this blog finds you well and getting ready for the Super Bowl. Or if you’re in the minority like me, you’re just working with little idea what’s happening in the world of sports.

On a really bright note, Tom Brady is the oldest person to ever quarterback a Super Bowl at age 40, which is really encouraging to anyone over the age of, well, 40 years old.

Since the last blog, we’ve added 7 more minutes of daylight to the day. Every day we add one more minute of daylight until the summer solstice on June 21, 2018. In the winter, amidst the cold, snow, sleet, frozen ground, wind chill, dying vehicles and general unpleasantness, we take tiny bits of satisfaction where we can.

Quote of the day: From George Bernard Shaw: “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” (Based on George’s definition, I’m one of the most honorable people alive…😊) This excellent quote does play into my advice to do something with your project to move it forward, as opposed to doing nothing while you search for perfection in design, planning, scheduling and pricing.

In my experience, perfection is the enemy of progress. Often “good enough” is truly good enough to start. Once you’re in motion, it’s easy to adapt to conditions and correct your path.

Today, among other things, we review the Home Show last weekend at Brookdale College. We discuss zoning issues extensively, since the field is esoteric and very easily misunderstood even by experienced professionals. We discuss rising labor and material costs again. Finally, we mention our next Rebuilding Seminar, which is the first for 2018 and is scheduled for March 14th, 2018.

Seminars and Events

Our next Rebuilding Seminar will be held Wednesday March 14th, 2018 at 6 pm at the Tuscan Bar and Grill on Hooper Avenue in Toms River, across from the Ocean County Mall. We’ll be joined by Kathleen Dotoli, Esquire, Jason Devooght (Devooght House Lifters) and either Scott Lepley or Dan Wheaton, architects. As always, we’ll also be streaming it on Facebook Live and be online if you want to email questions or comments while the seminar is under way.

If you’re planning a project, whether a new home, elevation or renovation, and you haven’t already attended one of our seminars, come for tons of helpful information from our excellent speakers. We focus on homeowners early in the rebuilding process, who haven’t completed design work, or chosen a builder or architect.

We talk about architectural and engineering planning, construction technique, RREM guidance, choosing the right builder and consumer safety cautions, financing your project, and tips about home elevation in general. We also talk about RREM issues, (the lunacy of) managing your own project, and ways to avoid delays and going over budget. So, mark the date and call 609 693 8881 or 732 300 5619 to reserve your space if you want to attend. Pizza and wine will be served, and space is limited.

Zoning issues – Building anywhere in NJ? Beware!! In general, building departments in NJ are difficult to deal with, with the Top 5 being the worst by far (Toms River, Brick, Little Egg, Manahawkin and Berkeley). Zoning officers though, can also be particularly difficult to deal with, and the experience is complicated by interpretation and subtle nuance. Today we’ll discuss a particular area of concern, which affects many, many people up and down the shore. It is called a “pre-existing, non-conforming” condition.

This condition is exactly like it sounds – a condition that was approved years (or decades ago) which doesn’t meet current zoning requirements. A general rule of thumb is that if you don’t remove the item and you are doing an elevation to meet new flood codes, you are ok.

If you remove the item, and it didn’t meet current zoning setbacks or restrictions, you won’t be able to rebuild it as it was without applying for a variance from the township. For purposes of this article, we won’t address variance applications which are an entire book unto themselves. Let’s assume you do not wish to apply for a variance (which could take 3-8 months, cost $3,000 – $10,000 and not guarantee any results other than aggravation).

Decks and sheds are a large part of this issue, so we’ll focus on them today. If a deck exists currently and is proposed to be elevated with the house, it may not be in compliance once it is elevated. It is not only side, rear and front setbacks, but height considerations which must be considered. To add more complexity to the issue, total lot coverage, distance from the bulkhead or beach (where applicable) and total value of the post construction improvements relative to assessed value are all additional items of concern.

Sheds which have been in place for years and are within 3’ or 5’ of the property line, will be called out on zoning permits as items to be moved prior to a certificate of occupancy being issued. That’s a relatively painless affair – assuming they have a floor, most sheds can be moved by rolling them on a series of 4” pvc sewer pipe.

Decks, on the other hand, can be a pain in the ass. If you have a deck that is at finished floor level, your lifestyle has gotten accustomed to that and you don’t want to step out on a platform and descend 8 (or 10, or 13) steps to a lower deck just to barbecue. One solution is to decrease the size of the deck to conform to current zoning, which is a common fix. Another is to deal with a smaller upper platform, with stairs down to the existing deck. Finally, you can choose to build a new house and situate the house correctly on the lot, to allow the size and height deck that you want.

Keep in mind that “All my neighbors have this” is not any kind of defense or justification for a township approving a non-conforming use. Once you open a building permit, you are fair game to your town. You then must bring everything into conformance, regardless of what anyone (or everyone) else is doing.

Often with elevation projects, it is best to elevate decks with the house to avoid a good portion of this issue. The biggest concern with that course of action is that the deck might be 40 years old, not maintained or built to current codes and by all rights should be demolished. By doing the right thing (demolishing the existing deck and building a new one), you create a host of other issues that you wouldn’t have to normally deal with.

Other concerns include adding extra space in coastal areas over what existed previously. If you add more than 300 square feet, you will most probably trigger the need for a new CAFRA (DEP) permit. We want to avoid that if possible. If you are building any closer to an existing waterway than what was previously there (dock, bulkhead, river, etc), this will also trigger a CAFRA permit. For the record, CAFRA permits on existing lots can run $3,000 – $5,000 between engineering, surveying, applications fees and permits.

So be careful with pre-existing, non-conforming conditions – either stick to the existing condition and leave what is in place where it is, or make sure you submit zoning & building permit applications which accurately reflect that what you want to do will be allowed. The aim is to ensure that what you have in mind won’t have to be removed.

Note also that this subject is complex, often more than it appears. For assistance and consultation, call us at 609 693 8881 or 732 300 5619.

New Foxy Fox model being built in Lacey – from $259,900: If you’re in the market for a new home, we’ll be building our Foxy Fox model on Clairmore Avenue in Lacey this spring. This model is a great starter home, because it offers the possibility of adding 2 bedrooms and an additional bath upstairs (we include the roughs for a future bath), as well as finishing the lower level. It’s a 3-4 bedroom, 2.5 bath house with a raised enclosed basement, built on pilings. Before we start in March, you can pick all your colors – roof, siding, flooring and cabinets. Give us a call at 609 693 8881 for further information.

Building costs increased, for the third year in a row…and skilled labor has become more difficult to find and keep. Keep these two items in mind when you are finalizing your project costs and estimates. If you have an estimate that is a year old, expect that it may increase slightly (3%-4%). Another caution: Material costs will increase again through 2018 and into 2019. If you’re planning a project, try and secure fixed pricing now, or at least as soon as you can.

Tempus fugit! (that means Time is Fleeting, in Latin): Time has just about run out for projects you want to have completed by Summer 2018, unless you have your plans submitted, or are submitting in the next few days. If you’re still on the fence, call us at 609 693 8881 and we’ll help you get focused and moving forward.

However, it is the perfect time to be working on plans for a late summer/fall 2018 start for your project. At this point you should ideally be in the plan design stage and working through an agreement with your builder, so you can submit plans in July and be ready to start in September. Again, give us a call to discuss scheduling.

A Warm Welcome to 3 new clients – Welcome to Ken in Toms River (elevation), Brandy & Peter in Island Heights (new home) and Mr. Gao (elevation & renovation in Manahawkin. We’re honored that you chose us as your builder and know you’ll be happy with the results. Welcome to the Dream Homes family!

Design & Hiring Your Own Architect: The design & architectural fees are usually itemized separately and are (for us) a pass-through cost. In other words, we oversee the entire design process and it costs our clients the same amount (usually much less) of money than if the homeowner deals with the architect directly. This also results in significant savings in both construction design and redesign fees. Remember – the personwho is going to build theproject should be involved in the design from inception, so practical best practices can be designed in from the start. Author’s note from 2017: We successfully completed 42 projects in 2017, and 8 of them were with plans that the homeowner produced prior to retaining us. In all 8 projects, the plans and the scope of work had to be modified, the architecture and engineering cost was higher than we charge for the same work, and there were delays in each project in excess of normal.

Moral of the story and a word to the wise – for a new home, elevation or significant renovation, unless you really know what you’re doing and are going to oversee and build the project yourself, let your builder/general contractor provide you with a design/build package. It will save you time, money and grief.

Coastal A Zone – Reminders & Cautions – Final repeat: This is an item we’ve discussed before, but it is still commonly missed and can cause both delay and extra expense during your design phase.

It is not enough to determine the general flood zone your home is in – if you are in an A zone, you also must make sure you are not in a Coastal A zone, which is a further subcategory. The single biggest reason this is an important consideration is that in the Coastal A zone, deep foundation systems are required, and you cannot add to existing block foundations (unless the foundation has pilings below grade and a concrete grade beam footing). This was not always the case in A zones and is due to a change in the code which was finalized in March of 2016.

A deep foundation system can be either timber or helical pilings, depending upon whether your home can be moved out of the way or not. Timber piles are much less expensive and the preferred method if your yard is large enough for a move, or there is an empty lot nearby that you can “borrow”. Compounding the cost and design considerations is the fact that even if after you install a deep foundation system, you cannot build regular concrete block or frame walls. They must be specifically designed as “breakaway walls”, and concrete breakaway walls are complex and expensive, which leaves you essentially forced to build frame walls with a cement board enclosure.

This seemingly minor consideration (whether you are in a Coastal A) can affect you greatly if your architect or engineer designs to normal A zone constraints, only to later to discover that your home is in a Coastal A zone. This epiphany will usually happen in the building review stage, after you’ve already designed an entire foundation system based on building with concrete block, either on top of existing block or with a normal concrete footing set 30” below grade. Not only is the foundation redesign going to cost you several thousand dollars, but this error will cost you 1-2 months in delays. On top of all that happy news, in most cases the actual construction cost will increase significantly.

The easiest way to avoid this pitfall is to consult directly with your surveyor or go on www.region2coastal.com to check yourself. Plug in your address and check to see if there is a solid line running anywhere near your lot, with small triangles interspersed along the line. The points of the triangles face toward the Coastal A zone and if your home is in that area, you are subject to the design criteria above. Note also that Coastal A zones are commonly on or very near the open bayfront or riverfront. If you are 3-4 houses distance from the water, you are probably in a regular A zone.

Dream Homes – Awarded the Best Home Improvement Contractor and Best Modular Home Builder in Ocean County for 2017 by the Asbury Park Press. That’s something we’re very proud of, but we’re even more proud that we’ve recently passed the milestone of 200 completed elevation/renovation projects since Storm Sandy. Dream looks forward to continuing to help New Jersey rebuild in the months and years ahead. Thanks to all the clients and friends who voted for us in that survey!

Though we’re known more for new homes and elevation projects than kitchens and baths, we also do quite a bit of remodeling. An excellent place for you to start Is at our Custom Modular, Kitchen & Bath design studio at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant, with complete kitchen layouts, flooring selections and our own in house modular home design studio. As necessary parts of the 1900 home projects we’ve completed since 1993, we are well equipped to accommodate your remodeling needs, from the simple to the most complex. Call 609 693 8881 to schedule an appointment or just stop by. You’re invited to visit us and see what we have – hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 – 2, closed on Tuesday, with other hours by appointment.

Hurricane Preparation: So good I keep repeating it! I’ve had this in the last 5 blogs, so I’ll just include the link. I know most people don’t pay attention to being prepared, but hope springs eternal so I keep posting it…

Here are a few items from our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section. The October 8th blog has all of them or you can get them from our website at www.dreamhomesltd.com. It’s a useful, concise guide to address common questions and lets you know what you can expect when you choose Dream Homes as your builder.

Solar Power at Home –More Info and link: For the full story check the 10/29/17 blog, and here is the link.

Dream Homes & Development Corporation – who we are: As you may know, Dream Homes & Development Corp. (OTCOB: Ticker DREM) is a publicly traded, fully reporting (audited) company, is the region’s most trusted new home builder and home improvement contractor and wasrecently awarded the Best Home Improvement Contractor and Best Modular Home Builder in Ocean County for 2017 by the Asbury Park Press. Dream is growing, improving our operations and service and adding new members to our team to better serve you. You can view financials on our web site at www.dreamhomesltd.com. Click on the SEC tab at the bottom of the page for information.

Dream Homes has a main office in Forked River and a Modular Design Center in Point Pleasant, and we’re the only public company doing home elevation work in New Jersey. You can view all the information about us online and if you like us and believe in what we’re doing, we would love to have you as shareholders. For more information and an information package, contact Matt Chipman, our investor relations person. Matt can be reached at (818) 923-5302, (310) 709-5646 or matt@GreenChipIR.com. You can view our operational results and financials at any time on our website at www.dreamhomesltd.com or at www.sec.gov.

Mission Statement and Comment: At Dream Homes, we’re the region’s most trusted builder and we’ll help you when no one else will. We regularly handle messy and unpleasant real estate, construction and renovation situations. We do the elevation, renovation and new home projects that few other people can do, and help people finish and get back in their homes. If you’re stuck and can’t figure out how to proceed, call us and we’ll do our best to help you.

At Dream Homes, we believe that taking on difficult unpopular projects is part of the social contract we have with the community and the Jersey Shore. We’ve never abandoned a client or failed to finish a project – we feel very strongly that it is our obligation to help Sandsters and others in need.

Insulation & Wall Thickness – How Much Is Needed and What’s Involved? See the blog of 11/18/17 for useful information on Insulation technique, wall thicknesses & energy efficiency

Siding, Trim and other Exterior Finishes: See the blog of 8/26/17 for useful information on choices for siding, trim and other finishes.

Decks, more decks and railing…Decks are one of the more popular improvements and one of the easiest ways to add value to your home. Decks fall into 3 main categories – pressure treated, composite and fiberglass. Railings can be pressure treated, vinyl rail or glass.

New Beach Bungalow on your lot from $89,800!!This model is perfect for many small lots in the shore area including Ocean Beach, Lavallette, Ortley and South Seaside Park.

Seaview and Bayview Models: From $149,000 including demolition. These homes are 2-3 bedrooms and 2 baths and suitable for 40-60 foot wide lots. Call 609 693 8881 for details.

Is your home improvement contractor or new home builders willing to provide a turn-key project? It’s messy, requires diverse skill sets and deep administrative support and places all responsibility for everything directly on the builder’s shoulders. Dream Homes regularly perform turn-key renovation and design build projects and will remain as one of the best, solid companies in the years to come. This matters to you because if a company isn’t committed to being in the line of work for which you are contracting, they will not support it correctly during and after the project. That means less resources (personnel and otherwise) devoted to your project. Currently at Dream Homes, we’ve been actively hiring carpenters, helpers, marketing and support staff for 2 years. We’re committed to the elevation /renovation business and improve every single day – our commitment to provide additional, better resources to our clients is ongoing.

Moral of the story: Try and avoid working with any company not committed to the type of project you are undertaking. Ask to see current projects in process or being started.

Need to Phone a Friend? Need a Rescue? 2017 Scheduling & Priority projects – If you’re stuck in a stalled project for whatever reason (contractor in jail or indicted, bankrupt, lazy, inept, no money, etc.) we’ll help you with a prompt evaluation of your situation. We do consultation and estimates immediately for projects that are stuck. It doesn’t change what happened to you in the past, but at least you’ll know how to get back on track, without chasing someone for a month to get an initial meeting and written estimate. As a note, often we’re the only company willing to finish projects that have been abandoned.

Kathleen M. Dotoli, Esquire – Consumer Protection: Kathleen is a workers’ compensation and disability attorney in Toms River and speaks regularly at our Rebuilding Seminar. Kathy gives an excellent presentation about consumer protection that will save you money and grief. (Next one is Wednesday, December 6th, 2017). Email Kathy at kmdotoli611@aol.com or call her office at 732 228 7534 for a copy of her seminar presentation.

Remember – if you have a specific question, send me an email or a text. Don’t wait for a seminar or a site visit to clarify a point. Whether you are a Dream Homes client or not, I’ll always try and help you or guide you in the right direction. If you’ve sent an email or left a voice mail and haven’t received a response, try and contact me again. Messages are lost occasionally.

Note to Sandsters: Though I write this blog and host the Rebuilding seminars to help guide homeowners through the maze that is any reconstruction project, Dream Homes does all of the work that I write about. Dream Homes & Development Corp. and Dream Building LLC are new home builders and general contractors who are actively renovating and reconstructing projects up and down the shore. We supervise and manage elevation projects & house moves, demolish and build new homes, and develop and build entire new neighborhoods. In the past 23 years, we’ve completed over 1500 new homes, 190 elevation projects and 500,000 square feet of commercial buildings. 28 of our elevation projects have been rescue projects, where we came in to save a homeowner when someone else left. Dream builds new homes, demolishes existing damaged homes, elevates and move homes, complete additions and renovations and rescues homeowners when their other contractors abandon them. We work with private clients as well as Path B clients in the RREM program. Call, text or email to set up an appointment for a free estimate on your rebuilding project.

That’s all for today Sandsters. I hope my words helps you move forward. As always, call or write with any questions.

Dream Homes and Development Corp.
Dream Building LLC.
Nearly Famous Rebuilding, Renovation, and Elevation Blog
1-28-18

Hello all –
I hope this blog finds you well and making it through your winter. After the bitter cold of the first 2 weeks of the year, we’ve gotten a bit of a break in the weather.
On a positive note, since December 21, 2017, we’ve added 37 minutes of daylight to the day. Every day we add one more minute of daylight until the summer solstice on June 21, 2018. Summer can’t come soon enough for me.
Today is the last day of the Jersey Shore home show at Brookdale College, where we have been exhibiting since Friday. It’s been a busy show and we’ve spoken to many people about their new home and renovation needs. If you can make it, the show is a wealth of information on everything having to do with improving your home. Today the show is open from 11-6 pm. Here is a picture of our booth. If you make it up there, feel free to stop by and say hello.

Today, among other things, we caution you about Toms River zoning and restrictions on pavers and sidewalks, which you might not be aware of. We again discuss the Coastal A zone and its particular requirements, since it affects numerous people in an effort to save your project from being derailed midstream. We talk about the new Foxy Fox model we’ll be starting on Clairmore Avenue in Lacey, which will be available in June of this year from $259,900. We again remind you about the effective winterization of your home before doing utility disconnects, so your pipes don’t burst causing you to incur major costs. Finally, we mention our next Rebuilding Seminar, which is the first for 2018 and is scheduled for March 14th, 2018.

Building costs increased, for the third year in a row…and skilled labor has become more difficult to find and keep. Keep these two items in mind when you are finalizing your project costs and estimates. If you have an estimate that is a year old, expect that it may increase slightly (3%-4%). Another caution: Material costs will increase again through 2018 and into 2019. If you’re planning a project, try and secure fixed pricing now, or at least as soon as you can.

Tempus fugit! (that means Time is Fleeting, in Latin): Time has just about run out for projects you want to have completed by Summer 2018, unless you have your plans submitted, or are submitting in the next few days. If you’re still on the fence, call us at 609 693 8881 and we’ll help you get focused and moving forward.
However, it is the perfect time to be working on plans for a late summer/fall 2018 start for your project. At this point you should ideally be in the plan design stage and working through an agreement with your builder, so you can submit plans in July and be ready to start in September. Again, give us a call to discuss scheduling.

A Warm Welcome to 3 new clients – Welcome to Ken in Toms River (elevation), Brandy & Peter in Island Heights (new home) and Mr. Gao (elevation & renovation in Manahawkin. We’re honored that you chose us as your builder and know you’ll be happy with the results. Welcome to the Dream Homes family!

Building in Toms River? Beware!! In general, the entire building department in Toms River is particularly difficult to deal with, and the zoning office can be the worst of the experience. A very important ordinance for you to remember concerns impervious surface coverage, such as pavers, driveways and walkways.
Toms River quietly passed an ordinance last year that says (paraphrase) “If you have impervious surface on the ground within 2’ of the property line, and it is removed during construction, you will not be permitted to reinstall it without a variance.” (Author’s note: They have never granted a variance for this item). For years (and in every other township where we work), any structure on the ground (actually even within 24” of the ground), could extend as far as your property line, regardless of setbacks.
Be careful with this item – either stick to the approved plot plan, or make sure you submit a new zoning permit application to ensure that what you have in mind won’t have to be ripped out.

New Foxy Fox model being built in Lacey – from $259,900: If you’re in the market for a new home, we’ll be building our Foxy Fox model on Clairmore Avenue in Lacey this spring. This model is a great starter home, because it offers the possibility of adding 2 bedrooms and an additional bath, as well as finishing the lower level. It’s a 3-4 bedroom, 2.5 bath house with a raised enclosed basement, built on pilings. Before we start in March, you can pick all your colors – roof, siding, flooring and cabinets. Give us a call at 609 693 8881 for further information.

Design & Hiring Your Own Architect: The design & architectural fees are usually itemized separately and are (for us) a pass-through cost. In other words, we oversee the entire design process and it costs our clients the same amount (usually much less) of money than if the homeowner deals with the architect directly. This also results in significant savings in both construction design and redesign fees. Remember – the person who is going to build the project should be involved in the design from inception, so practical best practices can be designed in from the start. Author’s note from 2017: We successfully completed 42 projects in 2017, and 8 of them were with plans that the homeowner produced prior to retaining us. In all 8 projects, the plans and the scope of work had to be modified, the architecture and engineering cost was higher than we charge for the same work, and there were delays in each project in excess of normal.
Moral of the story and a word to the wise – for a new home, elevation or significant renovation, unless you really know what you’re doing and are going to oversee and build the project yourself, let your builder/general contractor provide you with a design/build package. It will save you time, money and grief.

Coastal A Zone – Reminders & Cautions: This is an item we’ve discussed before, but it is still commonly missed and can cause both delay and extra expense during your design phase.
It is not enough to determine the general flood zone your home is in – if you are in an A zone, you also must make sure you are not in a Coastal A zone, which is a further subcategory. The single biggest reason this is an important consideration is that in the Coastal A zone, deep foundation systems are required, and you cannot add to existing block foundations (unless the foundation has pilings below grade and a concrete grade beam footing). This was not always the case in A zones and is due to a change in the code which was finalized in March of 2016.
A deep foundation system can be either timber or helical pilings, depending upon whether your home can be moved out of the way or not. Timber piles are much less expensive and the preferred method if your yard is large enough for a move, or there is an empty lot nearby that you can “borrow”. Compounding the cost and design considerations is the fact that even if after you install a deep foundation system, you cannot build regular concrete block or frame walls. They must be specifically designed as “breakaway walls”, and concrete breakaway walls are complex and expensive, which leaves you essentially forced to build frame walls with a cement board enclosure.
This seemingly minor consideration (whether you are in a Coastal A) can affect you greatly if your architect or engineer designs to normal A zone constraints, only to later to discover that your home is in a Coastal A zone. This epiphany will usually happen in the building review stage, after you’ve already designed an entire foundation system based on building with concrete block, either on top of existing block or with a normal concrete footing set 30” below grade. Not only is the foundation redesign going to cost you several thousand dollars, but this error will cost you 1-2 months in delays. On top of all that happy news, in most cases the actual construction cost will increase significantly.
The easiest way to avoid this pitfall is to consult directly with your surveyor or go on http://www.region2coastal.com to check yourself. Plug in your address and check to see if there is a solid line running anywhere near your lot, with small triangles interspersed along the line. The points of the triangles face toward the Coastal A zone and if your home is in that area, you are subject to the design criteria above. Note also that Coastal A zones are commonly on or very near the open bayfront or riverfront. If you are 3-4 houses distance from the water, you are probably in a regular A zone.

Utility Disconnects: Important Note: Remember to blow out your pipes when you shut your water. It is not generally sufficient to just open all faucets and valves, since water sits in the lowest point in each fixture. Toilets need to be thoroughly drained and non-caustic antifreeze installed. If you have hot water baseboard heat and a boiler, you must blow out your lines or they will definitely burst, and you’ll be stuck with a hefty repair bill when you turn the water back on. We automatically do winterizing for all homes we start after October 15th, but sometimes it’s easy to forget to thoroughly winterize when the weather is in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.

Dream Homes – Awarded the Best Home Improvement Contractor and Best Modular Home Builder in Ocean County for 2017 by the Asbury Park Press. That’s something we’re very proud of, but we’re even more proud that we’ve recently passed the milestone of 200 completed elevation/renovation projects since Storm Sandy. Dream looks forward to continuing to help New Jersey rebuild in the months and years ahead. Thanks to all the clients and friends who voted for us in that survey!

Future Seminars and Events
Our next Rebuilding Seminar will be held Wednesday March 14th, 2018 at 6 pm at the Tuscan Bar and Grill on Hooper Avenue in Toms River, across from the Ocean County Mall. We’ll be joined by Kathleen Dotoli, Esquire, Jason Devooght (Devooght House Lifters) and Dan Wheaton, architect. As always, we’ll also be streaming it on Facebook Live and be online if you want to email questions or comments while the seminar is under way.
If you’re planning a project, whether a new home, elevation or renovation, and you haven’t already attended one of our seminars, come for tons of helpful information from our excellent speakers. We focus on homeowners early in the rebuilding process, who haven’t completed design work, or chosen a builder or architect.
We talk about architectural and engineering planning, construction technique, RREM guidance, choosing the right builder and consumer safety cautions, financing your project, and tips about home elevation in general. We also talk about RREM issues, (the lunacy of) managing your own project, and ways to avoid delays and going over budget. So, mark the date and call 609 693 8881 or 732 300 5619 to reserve your space if you want to attend. Pizza and wine will be served, and space is limited.

Dream Homes – Kitchen & Bath Design Studio & Custom Modular Division –
Though we’re known more for new homes and elevation projects than kitchens and baths, we also do quite a bit of remodeling. An excellent place for you to start Is at our Custom Modular, Kitchen & Bath design studio at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant, with complete kitchen layouts, flooring selections and our own in house modular home design studio. As necessary parts of the 1900 home projects we’ve completed since 1993, we are well equipped to accommodate your remodeling needs, from the simple to the most complex. Call 609 693 8881 to schedule an appointment or just stop by. You’re invited to visit us and see what we have – hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 – 2, closed on Tuesday, with other hours by appointment.

Hurricane Preparation: So good I keep repeating it! We again remind you again about common-sense preparations to make for the next hurricane, with a link to the FEMA guide, “How to Prepare for a Hurricane”, which you must print now so you can refer to it if the power goes out. Hurricane Preparation – FEMA Hurricane Prep, Common Sense Reminders & Sobering Statistics: It includes tips on what to do before, during and after the storm to protect yourself and your property. Again, print this guide now for your reference – if the power goes out, you won’t be able to access the internet.https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1494007144395-b0e215ae1ba6ac1b556f084e190e5862/FEMA_2017_Hurricane_HTP_FINAL.pdf

Dream Homes & Development Corporation – who we are: As you may know, Dream Homes & Development Corp. (OTCOB: Ticker DREM) is a publicly traded, fully reporting (audited) company, is the region’s most trusted new home builder and home improvement contractor and was recently awarded the Best Home Improvement Contractor and Best Modular Home Builder in Ocean County for 2016 by the Asbury Park Press. Dream is growing, improving our operations and service and adding new members to our team to better serve you. You can view financials on our web site at http://www.dreamhomesltd.com. Click on the SEC tab at the bottom of the page for information.
Dream Homes has a main office in Forked River and a Modular Design Center in Point Pleasant, and we’re the only public company doing home elevation work in New Jersey. You can view all the information about us online and if you like us and believe in what we’re doing, we would love to have you as shareholders. For more information and an information package, contact Matt Chipman, our investor relations person. Matt can be reached at (818) 923-5302, (310) 709-5646 or matt@GreenChipIR.com. You can view our operational results and financials at any time on our website at http://www.dreamhomesltd.com or at http://www.sec.gov.

Mission Statement and Comment: At Dream Homes, we’re the region’s most trusted builder and we’ll help you when no one else will. We regularly handle messy and unpleasant real estate, construction and renovation situations. We do the elevation, renovation and new home projects that few other people can do, and help people finish and get back in their homes. If you’re stuck and can’t figure out how to proceed, call us and we’ll do our best to help you.
At Dream Homes, we believe that taking on difficult unpopular projects is part of the social contract we have with the community and the Jersey Shore. We’ve never abandoned a client or failed to finish a project – we feel very strongly that it is our obligation to help Sandsters and others in need.

Insulation & Wall Thickness – How Much Is Needed and What’s Involved? See the blog of 11/18/17 for useful information on Insulation technique, wall thicknesses & energy efficiency
Siding, Trim and other Exterior Finishes: See the blog of 8/26/17 for useful information on choices for siding, trim and other finishes.
Decks, more decks and railing…Decks are one of the more popular improvements and one of the easiest ways to add value to your home. Decks fall into 3 main categories – pressure treated, composite and fiberglass. Railings can be pressure treated, vinyl rail or glass.

New Beach Bungalow on your lot from $89,800!! This model is perfect for many small lots in the shore area including Ocean Beach, Lavallette, Ortley and South Seaside Park.

Seaview and Bayview Models: From $149,000 including demolition. These homes are 2-3 bedrooms and 2 baths and suitable for 40-60 foot wide lots. Call 609 693 8881 for details.

Is your home improvement contractor or new home builders willing to provide a turn-key project? It’s messy, requires diverse skill sets and deep administrative support and places all responsibility for everything directly on the builder’s shoulders. Dream Homes regularly perform turn-key renovation and design build projects and will remain as one of the best, solid companies in the years to come. This matters to you because if a company isn’t committed to being in the line of work for which you are contracting, they will not support it correctly during and after the project. That means less resources (personnel and otherwise) devoted to your project. Currently at Dream Homes, we’ve been actively hiring carpenters, helpers, marketing and support staff for 2 years. We’re committed to the elevation /renovation business and improve every single day – our commitment to provide additional, better resources to our clients is ongoing.
Moral of the story: Try and avoid working with any company not committed to the type of project you are undertaking. Ask to see current projects in process or being started.

Need to Phone a Friend? Need a Rescue? 2018 Scheduling & Priority projects – If you’re stuck in a stalled project for whatever reason (contractor in jail or indicted, bankrupt, lazy, inept, no money, etc.) we’ll help you with a prompt evaluation of your situation. We do consultation and estimates immediately for projects that are stuck. It doesn’t change what happened to you in the past, but at least you’ll know how to get back on track, without chasing someone for a month to get an initial meeting and written estimate. As a note, often we’re the only company willing to finish projects that have been abandoned.

Kathleen M. Dotoli, Esquire – Consumer Protection: Kathleen is a workers’ compensation and disability attorney in Toms River and speaks regularly at our Rebuilding Seminar. Kathy gives an excellent presentation about consumer protection that will save you money and grief. (Next one is Wednesday, December 6th, 2017). Email Kathy at kmdotoli611@aol.com or call her office at 732 228 7534 for a copy of her seminar presentation.

Dream on the Forked River: 42 new 2-3 bedroom townhomes with garages and private boat slips. Anticipated opening in winter 2018/spring 2019.
If you’re looking for new homes this year or early next year, give us a call and we’ll get you information.

Yeah, We Do That for You… This was an excellent article from the 1/8/17 blog, which received positive response from many people. If you missed it, go back and read it now at

Definitions & Important Considerations That Can Delay Your Project: Click on the link belowhttps://blog.dreamhomesltd.com/definitions/
References & Testimonials – Click on the link belowhttps://blog.dreamhomesltd.com/references/
Remember – if you have a specific question, send me an email or a text. Don’t wait for a seminar or a site visit to clarify a point. Whether you are a Dream Homes client or not, I’ll always try and help you or guide you in the right direction. If you’ve sent an email or left a voice mail and haven’t received a response, try and contact me again. Messages are lost occasionally.
Note to Sandsters: Though I write this blog and host the Rebuilding seminars to help guide homeowners through the maze that is any reconstruction project, Dream Homes does all of the work that I write about. Dream Homes & Development Corp. and Dream Building LLC are new home builders and general contractors who are actively renovating and reconstructing projects up and down the shore. We supervise and manage elevation projects & house moves, demolish and build new homes, and develop and build entire new neighborhoods. In the past 23 years, we’ve completed over 1500 new homes, 190 elevation projects and 500,000 square feet of commercial buildings. 28 of our elevation projects have been rescue projects, where we came in to save a homeowner when someone else left. Dream builds new homes, demolishes existing damaged homes, elevates and move homes, complete additions and renovations and rescues homeowners when their other contractors abandon them. We work with private clients as well as Path B clients in the RREM program. Call, text or email to set up an appointment for a free estimate on your rebuilding project.
That’s all for today Sandsters. I hope my words helps you move forward. As always, call or write with any questions.
Regards,

I hope this blog finds you well and having a wonderful holiday season. Other than the bitter cold, it hasn’t been that terrible. We even had a (slightly) white Christmas.

Today, among other things, we discuss the Coastal A zone and its particular requirements, in an effort to save your project from being derailed. We talk about a new single-family home we’ll be starting on Clairmore Avenue in Lacey, which will be available in June of this year. We again remind you about the effective winterization of your home before doing utility disconnects, so your pipes don’t burst incurring you major costs. We again recap Scott Lepley’s excellent presentation on home solar, which gives you enough information to intelligently start your research. We talk about our planning board appearance from 12/11/17 in Lacey Township, where we’re seeking approvals for 58 townhomes. Finally we welcome Doug Quinn to the Dream Homes family as our newest client. It’s been a busy few weeks.

Tempus fugit! (that means Time is Fleeting, in Latin): Time is running out for projects you want to have completed by Summer 2018. You need to submit plans during January to have a good chance of being finished in time for summer. Remember – there’s a ton of work that happens before the construction begins on a project – the planning stage is usually equal in time to the actual construction. If you know you’re going to commit to your project, don’t wait for the last minute. Pick a contractor or builder and get started.

A Warm Welcome to Doug Quinn –After years of carefully considering which builder to use for his new home, Dream Homes is honored that Doug trust us with the construction of his new home in Toms River. Doug has been extremely active since Storm Sandy, not only assisting personally in numerous flood zones, but appearing repeatedly before legislative bodies in support of people affected by flooding and new FEMA regulations. At Dream we wholeheartedly support him in his efforts and welcome him to the Dream Homes family.

New Home in Lacey – $259,900: If you’re in the market for a new home, we’ll be building one of our models on Clairmore Avenue in Lacey this spring. It will be a 3-4 bedroom, 2 bath house with a raised enclosed basement, built on pilings. Before we start in March, you can pick all your colors – roof, siding, flooring and cabinets. Give us a call at 609 693 8881 for further information.

Coastal A Zone – Reminders & Cautions: This is an item we’ve discussed before, but it is still commonly missed and can cause both delay and extra expense during your design phase.

It is not enough to determine the general flood zone your home is in – if you are in an A zone, you also must make sure you are not in a Coastal A zone, which is a further subcategory. The single biggest reason this is an important consideration is that in the Coastal A zone, deep foundation systems are required, and you cannot add to existing block foundations (unless the foundation has pilings below grade and a concrete grade beam footing). This was not always the case in A zones and is due to a change in the code which was finalized in March of 2016.

A deep foundation system can be either timber or helical pilings, depending upon whether your home can be moved out of the way or not. Timber piles are much less expensive and the preferred method if your yard is large enough for a move, or there is an empty lot nearby that you can “borrow”. Compounding the cost and design considerations is the fact that even if after you install a deep foundation system, you cannot build regular concrete block or frame walls. They must be specifically designed as “breakaway walls”, and concrete breakaway walls are complex and expensive, which leaves you essentially forced to build frame walls with a cement board enclosure.

This seemingly minor consideration (whether you are in a Coastal A) can affect you greatly if your architect or engineer designs to normal A zone constraints, only to later to discover that your home is in a Coastal A zone. This epiphany will usually happen in the building review stage, after you’ve already designed an entire foundation system based on building with concrete block, either on top of existing block or with a normal concrete footing set 30” below grade. Not only is the foundation redesign going to cost you several thousand dollars, but this error will cost you 1-2 months in delays. On top of all that happy news, in most cases the actual construction cost will increase significantly.

The easiest way to avoid this pitfall is to consult directly with your surveyor or go on www.region2coastal.com to check yourself. Plug in your address and check to see if there is a solid line running anywhere near your lot, with small triangles interspersed along the line. The points of the triangles face toward the Coastal A zone and if your home is in that area, you are subject to the design criteria above. Note also that Coastal A zones are commonly on or very near the open bayfront or riverfront. If you are 3-4 houses distance from the water, you are probably in a regular A zone.

Solar Discussions & Feasibility – Partial repeat

Of particular note at our 12/6/17 seminar was Scott Lepley’s presentation on solar installation for residential homes. Speaking from experience with 3 of his own homes, Scott detailed costs, yield, return on investment and feasibility in a concise informative presentation. Here are some of the highlights of his presentation.

A 5-kilowatt system, which produces 6 megawatts of power per year and is normally enough to run a 2500 – 3000 square foot house, costs about $18,000 – $20,000. The system is comprised of individual panels which each produce about 300 watts and cost between $1000 and $1500 per panel. For optimum efficiency, the panels should be oriented towards the south and ideally be placed at a 40% angle towards the sun. For best results, there should be no trees in the way, or the amount of energy generated is decreased. Scott recommends LG panels, but there are other comparable panels on the market.

From a financial perspective, there is a federal tax credit of 30% in the first year of ownership, which effectively cuts the price to about $12,000 – $14,000. Approximately $1200 – $1500 per year is generated in electric savings, and for each megawatt of power that is created per year, one SREC (Solar Renewable Energy Credit) is earned. SRECs are currently selling for $190 each, so that is another $1000 – $1200 per year in savings. Keep in mind that the tax benefits and SRECs only accrete to the owner of the system, so if you lease a system from a No Money Down Solar provider, you enjoy only partial energy savings, but none of the other benefits.

Utility Disconnects: Important Note: Remember to blow out your pipes when you shut your water. It is not generally sufficient to just open all faucets and valves, since water sits in the lowest point in each fixture. Toilets need to be thoroughly drained and non-caustic antifreeze installed. If you have hot water baseboard heat and a boiler, you must blow out your lines or they will definitely burst, and you’ll be stuck with a hefty repair bill when you turn the water back on. We automatically do winterizing for all homes we start after October 15th, but sometimes it’s easy to forget to thoroughly winterize when the weather is in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.

Press Release – Dream Homes New Home Developments & Projects:Repeat: If you’ve been following the blog and website, you know some of the projects that Dream has been working on. See some excerpts below and check the 11/26/17 blog for the full release.

FORKED RIVER, NJ – November 20, 2017 – Dream Homes & Development Corporation (OTCQB: DREM), a licensed new home builder and general contractor in New Jersey and Florida, is pleased to announce several new LOI’s to build townhomes and single-family homes. Dream is also providing updates on projects previously announced, and notes that it just won Best of the Best in Ocean Country from the Asbury Park Press for two categories: “Best Home Improvement Contractor” and “Best Modular Home Builder”.

A contract was signed to acquire the rights to a purchase contract for 48 waterfront townhomes with boat slips in Lacey, NJ. The project is currently in the approval process and is partially improved with all boat slips built. It has a retail value of $21 million and is expected to start in late 2018 or early 2019.

Dream Homes just received CAFRA approval for the 58-unit townhouse development in Lacey Township, and was deemed technically complete Monday, November 13. A planning board hearing for preliminary and final site plan and subdivision approval was heard on December 11, 2017 and is scheduled for another hearing on February 14th, 2018. Several concerns from the Planning Board were addressed.

Dream Homes – Awarded the Best Home Improvement Contractor and Best Modular Home Builder in Ocean County for 2017 by the Asbury Park Press. That’s something we’re very proud of, but we’re even more proud that we’ve recently passed the milestone of 200 completed elevation/renovation projects since Storm Sandy. Dream looks forward to continuing to help New Jersey rebuild in the months and years ahead. Thanks to all the clients and friends who voted for us in that survey!

Future Seminars and Events

Our next Rebuilding Seminar will be held Wednesday March 14th, 2018 at 6 pm at the Tuscan Bar and Grill on Hooper Avenue in Toms River, across from the Ocean County Mall. We’ll be joined by Kathleen Dotoli, Esquire, Jason Devooght (Devooght House Lifters) and Dan Wheaton, architect. As always, we’ll also be streaming it on Facebook Live and be online if you want to email questions or comments while the seminar is under way.

If you’re planning a project, whether a new home, elevation or renovation, and you haven’t already attended one of our seminars, come for tons of helpful information from our excellent speakers. We focus on homeowners early in the rebuilding process, who haven’t completed design work, or chosen a builder or architect.

We talk about architectural and engineering planning, construction technique, RREM guidance, choosing the right builder and consumer safety cautions, financing your project, and tips about home elevation in general. We also talk about RREM issues, (the lunacy of) managing your own project, and ways to avoid delays and going over budget. So, mark the date and call 609 693 8881 or 732 300 5619 to reserve your space if you want to attend. Pizza and wine will be served, and space is limited.

Though we’re known more for new homes and elevation projects than kitchens and baths, we also do quite a bit of remodeling. An excellent place for you to start Is at our Custom Modular, Kitchen & Bath design studio at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant, with complete kitchen layouts, flooring selections and our own in house modular home design studio. As necessary parts of the 1900 home projects we’ve completed since 1993, we are well equipped to accommodate your remodeling needs, from the simple to the most complex. Call 609 693 8881 to schedule an appointment or just stop by. You’re invited to visit us and see what we have – hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 – 2, closed on Tuesday, with other hours by appointment.

Hurricane Preparation: So good I keep repeating it! We again remind you again about common-sense preparations to make for the next hurricane, with a link to the FEMA guide, “How to Prepare for a Hurricane”, which you must print now so you can refer to it if the power goes out. Hurricane Preparation – FEMA Hurricane Prep, Common Sense Reminders & Sobering Statistics: I’ve included it again here because it is so useful. Entitled “FEMA’s guide on How to Prepare for a Hurricane”, it includes tips on what to do before, during and after the storm to protect yourself and your property. Again, print this guide now for your reference – if the power goes out, you won’t be able to access the internet.

Here are a few items from our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section. The October 8th blog has all of them or you can get them from our website at www.dreamhomesltd.com. It’s a useful, concise guide to address common questions and lets you know what you can expect when you choose Dream Homes as your builder.

Solar Power at Home –More Info and link: For the full story check the 10/29/17 blog, and here is the link.

Dream Homes & Development Corporation – who we are: As you may know, Dream Homes & Development Corp. (OTCOB: Ticker DREM) is a publicly traded, fully reporting (audited) company, and we’ve just released our 2nd quarter financials. I’m proud to report that sales, earnings and contracts have all increased significantly. Dream is the region’s most trusted new home builder and home improvement contractor and wasrecently awarded the Best Home Improvement Contractor and Best Modular Home Builder in Ocean County for 2016 by the Asbury Park Press. Dream is growing, improving our operations and service and adding new members to our team to better serve you. You can view financials on our web site at www.dreamhomesltd.com. Click on the SEC tab at the bottom of the page for information.

Dream Homes has a main office in Forked River and a Modular Design Center in Point Pleasant, and we’re the only public company doing home elevation work in New Jersey. You can view all the information about us online and if you like us and believe in what we’re doing, we would love to have you as shareholders. For more information and an information package, contact Matt Chipman, our investor relations person. Matt can be reached at (818) 923-5302, (310) 709-5646 or matt@GreenChipIR.com. You can view our operational results and financials at any time on our website at www.dreamhomesltd.com or at www.sec.gov.

Mission Statement and Comment: At Dream Homes, we’re the region’s most trusted builder and we’ll help you when no one else will. We regularly handle messy and unpleasant real estate, construction and renovation situations. We do the elevation, renovation and new home projects that few other people can do, and help people finish and get back in their homes. If you’re stuck and can’t figure out how to proceed, call us and we’ll do our best to help you.

At Dream Homes, we believe that taking on difficult unpopular projects is part of the social contract we have with the community and the Jersey Shore. We’ve never abandoned a client or failed to finish a project – we feel very strongly that it is our obligation to help Sandsters and others in need.

Design & Hiring Your Own Architect:Generally, design & architectural fees are usually itemized separately and are (for us) a pass-through cost. In other words, we oversee the entire design process and it costs our clients the same amount (usually much less) of money than if the homeowner deals with the architect directly. This also results in significant savings in both construction design and redesign fees. Remember – the personwho is going to build theproject should be involved in the design from inception, so practical best practices can be designed in from the start.

Insulation & Wall Thickness – How Much Is Needed and What’s Involved? See the blog of 11/18/17 for useful information on Insulation technique, wall thicknesses & energy efficiency

Siding, Trim and other Exterior Finishes: See the blog of 8/26/17 for useful information on choices for siding, trim and other finishes.

Decks, more decks and railing…Decks are one of the more popular improvements and one of the easiest ways to add value to your home. Decks fall into 3 main categories – pressure treated, composite and fiberglass. Railings can be pressure treated, vinyl rail or glass.

New Beach Bungalow on your lot from $89,800!! This model is perfect for many small lots in the shore area including Ocean Beach, Lavallette, Ortley and South Seaside Park.

Seaview and Bayview Models: From $149,000 including demolition. These homes are 2-3 bedrooms and 2 baths and suitable for 40-60 foot wide lots. Call 609 693 8881 for details.

Is your home improvement contractor or new home builders willing to provide a turn-key project? It’s messy, requires diverse skill sets and deep administrative support and places all responsibility for everything directly on the builder’s shoulders. Dream Homes regularly perform turn-key renovation and design build projects and will remain as one of the best, solid companies in the years to come. This matters to you because if a company isn’t committed to being in the line of work for which you are contracting, they will not support it correctly during and after the project. That means less resources (personnel and otherwise) devoted to your project. Currently at Dream Homes, we’ve been actively hiring carpenters, helpers, marketing and support staff for 2 years. We’re committed to the elevation /renovation business and improve every single day – our commitment to provide additional, better resources to our clients is ongoing.

Moral of the story: Try and avoid working with any company not committed to the type of project you are undertaking. Ask to see current projects in process or being started.

Need to Phone a Friend? Need a Rescue? 2017 Scheduling & Priority projects – If you’re stuck in a stalled project for whatever reason (contractor in jail or indicted, bankrupt, lazy, inept, no money, etc.) we’ll help you with a prompt evaluation of your situation. We do consultation and estimates immediately for projects that are stuck. It doesn’t change what happened to you in the past, but at least you’ll know how to get back on track, without chasing someone for a month to get an initial meeting and written estimate. As a note, often we’re the only company willing to finish projects that have been abandoned.

Kathleen M. Dotoli, Esquire – Consumer Protection: Kathleen is a workers’ compensation and disability attorney in Toms River and speaks regularly at our Rebuilding Seminar. Kathy gives an excellent presentation about consumer protection that will save you money and grief. (Next one is Wednesday, December 6th, 2017). Email Kathy at kmdotoli611@aol.com or call her office at 732 228 7534 for a copy of her seminar presentation.

Remember – if you have a specific question, send me an email or a text. Don’t wait for a seminar or a site visit to clarify a point. Whether you are a Dream Homes client or not, I’ll always try and help you or guide you in the right direction. If you’ve sent an email or left a voice mail and haven’t received a response, try and contact me again. Messages are lost occasionally.

Note to Sandsters: Though I write this blog and hold the seminars to help guide homeowners through the maze that is any reconstruction project, Dream Homes does what I write about. Dream Homes & Development Corp. and Dream Building LLC are new home builders and general contractors who are actively renovating and reconstructing projects up and down the shore. We supervise and manage elevation projects & house moves, demolish and build new homes, and develop and build entire new neighborhoods. In the past 23 years, we’ve completed over 1500 new homes, 190 elevation projects and 500,000 square feet of commercial buildings. 28 of our elevation projects have been rescue projects, where we came in to save a homeowner when someone else left. Dream builds new homes, demolishes existing damaged homes, elevates and move homes, complete additions and renovations and rescues homeowners when their other contractors abandon them. We work with private clients as well as Path B clients in the RREM program. Call, text or email to set up an appointment for a free estimate on your rebuilding project.

That’s all for today Sandsters. I hope my words helps you move forward. As always, call or write with any questions.

I hope this blog finds you well and enjoying your slightly snowy weekend during this holiday season. Not to be a Scrooge, but for the record, I hate winter, and we’re not even technically there yet.

Today, among other things, we give you some tips for effective winterizing of your home before doing utility disconnects, so your pipes don’t become like Swiss cheese. We review our excellent Rebuilding Seminar of December 6th, with a recap of Scott Lepley’s excellent presentation on home solar. We talk about our upcoming single-family home development in Berkeley, where solar panels will be standard. We talk about our planning board appearance from Monday night in Lacey Township, where we’re seeking approvals for 58 townhomes. It’s been a busy few weeks.

Before we begin, we would like to extend our deepest condolences to Lou Obsuth, whose father passed away on Thursday. Lou runs our design center and modular division, and lost his father, Lou senior, at 92 after a brief illness several days ago. It is always difficult losing a loved one, and especially difficult during the holidays. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Lou.

Urgent: We just signed 2 more clients last week (8 new clients since 9/1/17), 6 of whom have plans and will be back in their homes by summer 2018. Time is running out for projects you want to have completed by Summer 2018. Get your contracts signed now, so plans can be submitted and your project can start before January and be finished in time for summer. If you’re going to move forward anyway, there’s no sense waiting to start paperwork until after the New Year. There is a ton of work that happens before the construction begins on a project – the planning stage is usually equal in time to the actual construction. If you know you’re going to commit to your project, don’t wait for the last minute. Pick a contractor or builder and get started.

Rebuilding Seminar recap – Solar Discussions & More

We had a great Rebuilding Seminar on December 6th, and as always, we extend a thank you to our speakers Scott Lepley and Jason Devooght, as well as all those who attended. Kathleen Dotoli was unable to attend in person but with us in spirit. Kathy does a great consumer protection talk and hasn’t missed a seminar in 2 years.

Of special note was Scott Lepley’s presentation on solar installation for residential homes. Speaking from experience with 3 of his own homes, Scott detailed costs, yield, return on investment and feasibility in a concise informative presentation. We have a development coming up in Bayville called Dream Homes at Tallwoods where we will be including a solar array on each home as part of our high-efficiency energy package. We’re planning systems that are very similar in scope to those Scott detailed.

In summary, a 5-kilowatt system, which produces 6 megawatts of power per year and is normally enough to run a 2500 – 3000 square foot house, costs about $18,000 – $20,000. The system is comprised of individual panels which each produce about 300 watts and cost between $1000 and $1500 per panel. For optimum efficiency, the panels should be oriented towards the south and ideally be placed at a 40% angle towards the sun. For best results, there should be no trees in the way, or the amount of energy generated is decreased. Scott recommends LG panels, but there are other comparable panels as well.

From a financial perspective, there is a federal tax credit of 30% in the first year of ownership, which effectively cuts the price to about $12,000 – $14,000. Approximately $1200 – $1500 per year is generated in electric savings, and for each megawatt of power that is created per year, one SREC (Solar Renewable Energy Credit) is earned. SRECs are currently selling for $190 each, so that is another $1000 – $1200 per year in savings. Keep in mind that the tax benefits and SRECs only accrete to the owner of the system, so if you lease a system from a No Money Down Solar provider, you enjoy only partial energy saving, but none of the other benefits.

Again, thank you Scott for an excellent presentation, which was of much help to anyone contemplating solar for their home or business.

Utility Disconnects: Important Note: Remember to blow out your pipes when you shut your water. It is not generally sufficient to just open all faucets and valves, since water sits in the lowest point in each fixture. Toilets need to be thoroughly drained and non-caustic antifreeze installed. If you have hot water baseboard heat and a boiler, you must blow out your lines or they will definitely burst and you’ll be stuck with a hefty repair bill when you turn the water back on. We automatically do winterizing for all homes we start after October 15th, but sometimes it’s easy to forget to thoroughly winterize when the weather is in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.

Press Release – Dream Homes New Home Developments & Projects:Repeat: If you’ve been following the blog and website, you know some of the projects that Dream has been working on. See some excerpts from the November 20, 2017 press release below and check the 11/26/17 blog for the full release.

Dream Homes & Development Signs Letters of Intent for New Townhouse and Single-Family Home Developments in New Jersey with Retail Value of Over $88 Million

FORKED RIVER, NJ – November 20, 2017 – Dream Homes & Development Corporation (OTCQB: DREM), a licensed new home builder and general contractor in New Jersey and Florida, is pleased to announce several new LOI’s to build townhomes and single-family homes. Dream is also providing updates on projects previously announced, and notes that it just won Best of the Best in Ocean Country from the Asbury Park Press for two categories: “Best Home Improvement Contractor” and “Best Modular Home Builder”.

A contract was signed to acquire the rights to a purchase contract for 48 waterfront townhomes with boat slips in Lacey, NJ. The project is currently in the approval process and is partially improved with all boat slips built. It has a retail value of $21 million and is expected to start in late 2018 or early 2019.

Dream just received CAFRA approval for the 58-unit townhouse development in Lacey Township, and was deemed technically complete Monday, November 13. A planning board hearing for preliminary and final site plan and subdivision approval was heard on December 11, 2017.

Dream submitted a use variance to the Board of Adjustment in Berkeley Township for approval on 13 single family lots, which are fully improved. The construction start date is estimated for later winter / early spring 2018 and these homes are planned for high-efficiency construction techniques, including passive solar roof panels, insulation of R50 in walls and ceilings, low-flow toilets and faucets and LED lighting throughout.

Dream added eight (8) new clients for elevation & renovation work since September 1, 2017. Two of the new projects are in townships where Dream has not previously worked, four were from client referrals and the last two were “rescue projects” where Dream was called in to complete projects other builders had abandoned.

Dream Homes CEO Mr. Vincent Simonelli stated, “Since being awarded the Ocean County Best of the Best in two categories (Best Custom Modular Builder and Best Home Improvement Contractor), we’ve had significant new awareness and interest from the public, which has led to more showroom traffic, completed estimates and signed contracts. Homeowners are also receiving referrals about Dream Homes from many industry professionals, such as architects, engineers and attorneys, who’ve either had clients with abandoned projects or simply want to retain Dream due to superior performance and reliability. Our phrase ‘The Region’s Most Trusted Builder’ accurately describes our company, and it’s becoming increasingly well known to homeowners in need of elevation & renovation work, as well as those building new homes. It also helps that our management team has never failed to complete a project in over 24 years in the industry.”

Mr. Simonelli concluded, “With the new developments where we’ve recently signed letters of intent, as well as the three developments that we have under contract and in development already, Dream is on track to have over $108 million in new home construction projects on the books in the near future. This work will occur over the next 3-4 years and is in addition to the elevation/renovation division of the business. At Dream Homes, we’re excited about these new developments, as well as the cutting-edge construction technologies we’re employing to create healthier, safer, more energy efficient homes. We’re looking forward to continued strong growth in New Jersey for many years to come and are happy to be a key part of the process to create better housing opportunities for New Jersey homeowners.”

11 Tips for Good Communications with your Builder: Reminder: Check the 11/26/17 blog for 11 tips to make the process and your relationship with your contractor less stressful. It’s an excellent guideline to keep you sane.

Dream Homes – Awarded the Best Home Improvement Contractor and Best Modular Home Builder in Ocean County for 2017 by the Asbury Park Press. That’s something we’re very proud of, but we’re even more proud that we’ve recently passed the milestone of 200 completed elevation/renovation projects since Storm Sandy. Dream looks forward to continuing to help New Jersey rebuild in the months and years ahead. Thanks to all the clients and friends who voted for us in that survey!

Future Seminars and Events

Our next Rebuilding Seminar will be held Wednesday March 14th, 2018 at 6 pm at the Tuscan Bar and Grill on Hooper Avenue in Toms River, across from the Ocean County Mall. We’ll be joined by Kathleen Dotoli, Esquire, Jason Devooght (Devooght House Lifters) and Dan Wheaton, architect. As always, we’ll also be streaming it on Facebook Live and be online if you want to email questions or comments while the seminar is under way.

If you’re planning a project, whether a new home, elevation or renovation, and you haven’t already attended one of our seminars, come for tons of helpful information from our excellent speakers. We focus on homeowners early in the rebuilding process, who haven’t completed design work, or chosen a builder or architect.

We talk about architectural and engineering planning, construction technique, RREM guidance, choosing the right builder and consumer safety cautions, financing your project, and tips about home elevation in general. We also talk about RREM issues, (the lunacy of) managing your own project, and ways to avoid delays and going over budget. So, mark the date and call 609 693 8881 or 732 300 5619 to reserve your space if you want to attend. Pizza and wine will be served and space is limited.

Though we’re known more for new homes and elevation projects than kitchens and baths, we also do quite a bit of remodeling. An excellent place for you to start Is at our Custom Modular, Kitchen & Bath design studio at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant, with complete kitchen layouts, flooring selections and our own in house modular home design studio. As necessary parts of the 1900 home projects we’ve completed since 1993, we are well equipped to accommodate your remodeling needs, from the simple to the most complex. Call 609 693 8881 to schedule an appointment or just stop by. You’re invited to visit us and see what we have – hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 – 2, closed on Tuesday, with other hours by appointment.

Insulation & Wall Thickness – How Much Is Needed and What’s Involved?Read the article in the 11/18/17 blog for more information.

Hurricane Preparation: So good I keep repeating it! We again remind you again about common-sense preparations to make for the next hurricane, with a link to the FEMA guide, “How to Prepare for a Hurricane”, which you must print now so you can refer to it if the power goes out. Hurricane Preparation – FEMA Hurricane Prep, Common Sense Reminders & Sobering Statistics: I’ve included it again here because it is so useful. Entitled “FEMA’s guide on How to Prepare for a Hurricane”, it includes tips on what to do before, during and after the storm to protect yourself and your property. Again, print this guide now for your reference – if the power goes out, you won’t be able to access the internet.

Here are a few items from our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section. The October 8th blog has all of them or you can get them from our website at www.dreamhomesltd.com. It’s a useful, concise guide to address common questions and lets you know what you can expect when you choose Dream Homes as your builder.

Solar Power at Home –More Info and link: For the full story check the 10/29/17 blog, and here is the link.

Dream Homes & Development Corporation – who we are: As you may know, Dream Homes & Development Corp. (OTCOB: Ticker DREM) is a publicly traded, fully reporting (audited) company, and we’ve just released our 2nd quarter financials. I’m proud to report that sales, earnings and contracts have all increased significantly. Dream is the region’s most trusted new home builder and home improvement contractor and wasrecently awarded the Best Home Improvement Contractor and Best Modular Home Builder in Ocean County for 2016 by the Asbury Park Press. Dream is growing, improving our operations and service and adding new members to our team to better serve you. You can view financials on our web site at www.dreamhomesltd.com. Click on the SEC tab at the bottom of the page for information.

Dream Homes has a main office in Forked River and a Modular Design Center in Point Pleasant, and we’re the only public company doing home elevation work in New Jersey. You can view all the information about us online and if you like us and believe in what we’re doing, we would love to have you as shareholders. For more information and an information package, contact Matt Chipman, our investor relations person. Matt can be reached at (818) 923-5302, (310) 709-5646 or matt@GreenChipIR.com. You can view our operational results and financials at any time on our website at www.dreamhomesltd.com or at www.sec.gov.

Mission Statement and Comment: At Dream Homes, we’re the region’s most trusted builder and we’ll help you when no one else will. We regularly handle messy and unpleasant real estate, construction and renovation situations. We do the elevation, renovation and new home projects that few other people can do, and help people finish and get back in their homes. If you’re stuck and can’t figure out how to proceed, call us and we’ll do our best to help you.

At Dream Homes, we believe that taking on difficult unpopular projects is part of the social contract we have with the community and the Jersey Shore. We’ve never abandoned a client or failed to finish a project – we feel very strongly that it is our obligation to help Sandsters and others in need.

Design & Hiring Your Own Architect:Generally, design & architectural fees are usually itemized separately and are (for us) a pass-through cost. In other words, we oversee the entire design process and it costs our clients the same amount (usually much less) of money than if the homeowner deals with the architect directly. This also results in significant savings in both construction design and redesign fees. Remember – the personwho is going to build theproject should be involved in the design from inception, so practical best practices can be designed in from the start.

Insulation & Wall Thickness – How Much Is Needed and What’s Involved? See the blog of 11/18/17 for useful information on Insulation technique, wall thicknesses & energy efficiency

Siding, Trim and other Exterior Finishes: See the blog of 8/26/17 for useful information on choices for siding, trim and other finishes.

Decks, more decks and railing…Decks are one of the more popular improvements and one of the easiest ways to add value to your home. Decks fall into 3 main categories – pressure treated, composite and fiberglass. Railings can be pressure treated, vinyl rail or glass.

New Beach Bungalow on your lot from $89,800!!This model is perfect for many small lots in the shore area including Ocean Beach, Lavallette, Ortley and South Seaside Park.

Seaview and Bayview Models: From $149,000 including demolition. These homes are 2-3 bedrooms and 2 baths and suitable for 40-60 foot wide lots. Call 609 693 8881 for details.

Is your home improvement contractor or new home builders willing to provide a turn-key project?. It’s messy, requires diverse skill sets and deep administrative support and places all responsibility for everything directly on the builder’s shoulders. Dream Homes regularly perform turn-key renovation and design build projects and will remain as one of the best, solid companies in the years to come. This matters to you because if a company isn’t committed to being in the line of work for which you are contracting, they will not support it correctly during and after the project. That means less resources (personnel and otherwise) devoted to your project. Currently at Dream Homes, we’ve been actively hiring carpenters, helpers, marketing and support staff for 2 years. We’re committed to the elevation /renovation business and improve every single day – our commitment to provide additional, better resources to our clients is ongoing.

Moral of the story: Try and avoid working with any company not committed to the type of project you are undertaking. Ask to see current projects in process or being started.

Need to Phone a Friend? Need a Rescue? 2017 Scheduling & Priority projects – If you’re stuck in a stalled project for whatever reason (contractor in jail or indicted, bankrupt, lazy, inept, no money, etc.) we’ll help you with a prompt evaluation of your situation. We do consultation and estimates immediately for projects that are stuck. It doesn’t change what happened to you in the past, but at least you’ll know how to get back on track, without chasing someone for a month to get an initial meeting and written estimate. As a note, often we’re the only company willing to finish projects that have been abandoned.

Kathleen M. Dotoli, Esquire – Consumer Protection: Kathleen is a workers’ compensation and disability attorney in Toms River and speaks regularly at our Rebuilding Seminar. Kathy gives an excellent presentation about consumer protection that will save you money and grief. (Next one is Wednesday, December 6th, 2017). Email Kathy at kmdotoli611@aol.com or call her office at 732 228 7534 for a copy of her seminar presentation.

Remember – if you have a specific question, send me an email or a text. Don’t wait for a seminar or a site visit to clarify a point. Whether you are a Dream Homes client or not, I’ll always try and help you or guide you in the right direction. If you’ve sent an email or left a voice mail and haven’t received a response, try and contact me again. Messages are lost occasionally.

Note to Sandsters: Though I write this blog and hold the seminars to help guide homeowners through the maze that is any reconstruction project, Dream Homes does what I write about. Dream Homes & Development Corp. and Dream Building LLC are new home builders and general contractors who are actively renovating and reconstructing projects up and down the shore. We supervise and manage elevation projects & house moves, demolish and build new homes, and develop and build entire new neighborhoods. In the past 23 years, we’ve completed over 1500 new homes, 190 elevation projects and 500,000 square feet of commercial buildings. 28 of our elevation projects have been rescue projects, where we came in to save a homeowner when someone else left. Dream builds new homes, demolishes existing damaged homes, elevates and move homes, complete additions and renovations and rescues homeowners when their other contractors abandon them. We work with private clients as well as Path B clients in the RREM program. Call, text or email to set up an appointment for a free estimate on your rebuilding project.

That’s all for today Sandsters. I hope my words helps you move forward. As always, call or write with any questions.

I hope this blog finds you well and enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend.

At the start of this holiday time, let’s take a moment to count our blessings as we share special times with family & friends. We are thankful for the freedom and opportunity for achievement that we enjoy in our great country. We’re very thankful for the friendship and confidence you have shown by trusting us with your homes.

At this holiday time, the entire Dream team would like to take a moment to wish you health, peace and a very happy holiday season.

Today, among other things, we give you 11 tips for how to communicate, stay sane and keep perspective when events during your project (or life!) do not quite come up roses. We remind you about our Rebuilding Seminar on December 6th, which is the last one until March 2018.We include a recent press release about some of the developments we’ve been working on.

Nearly Famous Rebuilding Seminar – LAST ONE UNTIL MARCH 2018! Wednesday December 6th, 2017 – See us in person and or watch us on Facebook Live! Special Guest Speaker – Home Solar

Our next Rebuilding Seminar will be held Wednesday December 6th, 2017 from 6 pm at the Tuscan Bar and Grill on Hooper Avenue in Toms River, across from the Ocean County Mall. IT’S THE LAST REBUILDING SEMINAR UNTIL MARCH 2018, SO DON’T MISS THIS ONE! We’ll be joined by Kathleen Dotoli, Esquire, Jason Devooght (Devooght House Lifters) and Scott Lepley, architect. We’ll also be streaming it on Facebook Live and be online if you want to email questions or comments while the seminar is under way. We’ll have a special guest speaker on solar for your home, so reserve space early.

If you’re planning a project, whether a new home, elevation or renovation, and you haven’t already attended one of our seminars, come for tons of helpful information from our excellent speakers. We focus on homeowners early in the rebuilding process, who haven’t completed design work, or chosen a builder or architect. This seminar we’ll also discuss solar panels and their uses for your home.

We talk about architectural and engineering planning, construction technique, RREM guidance, choosing the right builder and consumer safety cautions, financing your project, and tips about home elevation in general. We also talk about RREM issues, (the lunacy of) managing your own project, and ways to avoid delays and going over budget. So, mark the date and call 609 693 8881 or 732 300 5619 to reserve your space if you want to attend. Pizza and wine will be served and space is limited.

Urgent Notice: We just signed 3 more clients last week, all who have plans and will be back in by Summer. Time is running out for projects you want to have completed by Summer 2018. Get your contracts signed now, so plans can be submitted and your project can start before January and be finished in time for summer. If you’re going to move forward anyway, there’s no sense waiting to start paperwork until after the New Year. There is a ton of work that happens before the construction begins on a project, and if you know you’re going to commit to your project, don’t wait for the last minute. Pick a contractor or builder and get started.

Press Release – Dream Homes New Home Developments & Projects: If you’ve been following the blog and website, you know we’re working on 2 developments in Ocean County (details are below for the 13 single-family lots and the 58 townhomes). In the last few weeks, we’ve also signed 2 new letters of intent for new developments which will start next summer and fall. See the November 20, 2017 press release below.

Dream Homes & Development Signs Letters of Intent for New Townhouse and Single-Family Home Developments in New Jersey with Retail Value of Over $88 Million

FORKED RIVER, NJ – November 20, 2017 – Dream Homes & Development Corporation (OTCQB: DREM), a licensed new home builder and general contractor in New Jersey and Florida, is pleased to announce several new LOI’s to build townhomes and single-family homes. Dream is also providing updates on projects previously announced, and notes that it just won Best of the Best in Ocean Country from the Asbury Park Press for two categories: “Best Home Improvement Contractor” and “Best Modular Home Builder”.

Dream Homes is a fully integrated real estate Company specializing in the elevation and moving of homes, new construction of townhouses and single-family homes, as well as development and sale of approved, single-family homes and various residential properties located throughout central /southern New Jersey. Dream announces the following new projects, which have never before been discussed:

A letter of intent (LOI) has just been signed to construct 74 townhouse lots in Bayville, NJ and is moving forward to contract (Approved, unimproved). The project is slated to begin in the middle of 2018 and has a retail value of $17 million.

A signed LOI has been received to build 80 single family lots in Mickleton, NJ to begin early to middle 2018 with a retail value of $50 million (Approved, partially improved).

A contract will be signed to acquire the rights to a purchase contract via contract assignment for 48 waterfront townhomes with boat slips in Lacey, NJ. The project is currently in the approval process and is partially improved with all boat slips built. It has a retail value of $21 million and is expected to start in late 2018 or early 2019.In the addition to these new planned developments, Dream issues the following progress report:

Dream just received CAFRA approval for the 58-unit townhouse development in Lacey Township, and was deemed technically complete Monday, November 13. A planning board hearing for preliminary and final site plan and subdivision approval is scheduled for December 11, 2017. Sales at retail for this development should be in the $16 million-dollar range.

Dream submitted a use variance to the Board of Adjustment in Berkeley Township for approval on 13 single family lots, which are fully improved. The construction start date is estimated for later winter / early spring 2018 and these homes are planned for high-efficiency construction techniques, including passive solar roof panels, insulation of R50 in walls and ceilings, low-flow toilets and faucets and LED lighting throughout. Sales at retail for this development are projected to be in the $4 million-dollar range.

Dream added six new clients for elevation & renovation work since September 1, 2017. Two of the new projects are in townships where Dream has not previously worked, two were from client referrals and the last two were “rescue projects” where Dream was called in to complete projects other builders had abandoned.

Dream Homes CEO Mr. Vincent Simonelli stated, “This year has been very positive for Dream, with solid growth in both our new home and elevation divisions, as well as strong additions to our personnel infrastructure, which are just now beginning to bear fruit. Our new Design Center in Point Pleasant has also led to an increase in modular traffic and sales, as well as facilitated and increased client selections throughout our entire region.”

CEO Simonelli continued, “Since being awarded the Ocean County Best of the Best in two categories (Best Custom Modular Builder and Best Home Improvement Contractor), we’ve had significant new awareness and interest from the public, which has led to more showroom traffic, completed estimates and signed contracts. Homeowners are also receiving referrals about Dream Homes from many industry professionals, such as architects, engineers and attorneys, who’ve either had clients with abandoned projects or simply want to retain Dream due to superior performance and reliability. Our phrase ‘The Region’s Most Trusted Builder’ accurately describes our company, and it’s becoming increasingly well known to homeowners in need of elevation & renovation work. It also helps that our management team has never failed to complete a project in over 24 years in the industry.”

Mr. Simonelli added, “Our business model over the last year has been focused on increasing the new home and new development portion of our business, until it represents 50% – 70% of our entire revenue stream, from the current level of 20%. New home development has a much greater scalability and growth potential than elevation/renovation work. We have enjoyed steady growth in the renovation/elevation portion of the company and anticipate that by year end 2018 each part of the company (new homes and elevation work) will represent 50% of total revenue. By mid-year 2019, new home construction and development should represent over 70% of revenue.

Mr. Simonelli concluded, “With the new developments where we’ve recently signed letters of intent, as well as the three developments that we have under contract and in development already, Dream is on track to have over $108 million in new home construction projects on the books in the near future. This work will occur over the next 3-4 years and is in addition to the elevation/renovation division of the business. At Dream Homes, we’re excited about these new developments, as well as the cutting-edge construction technologies we’re employing to create healthier, safer, more energy efficient homes. We’re looking forward to continued strong growth in New Jersey for many years to come and are happy to be a key part of the process to create better housing opportunities for everyone.

11 Tips for Good Communications with your Builder: I receive many calls about issues with other builders and contractors and many of them fall into the category of misunderstood or insufficient communication between Sandsters and their builders. Here are 11 tips to make the process and your relationship with your contractor less stressful.

Do communicate via email as often as possible. It is effective, clear and serves as an excellent record of discussions.

Do Not use texting excessively. Texting, like many other forms of communication created in the last decade, is often misused. Texting is for brief one or two line notes or reminders, not for long lists of changes and specifications. A good rule of thumb is if it goes longer than 140 characters (1 text message) you should probably call or put it in an email. Texting is very useful to share brief specific bits of information. Note: We stopped using texting between field people and clients since it is so fraught with error.

Do realize and accept that you will have a relationship with your builder, often for a period of 6-9 months between planning, design and construction. It is not the same as hiring someone to clean your gutters.

Do realize that your project will not go exactly as planned, since no construction project since the time of the Phoenicians ever has. Having a practical, reasonably relaxed attitude towards unforeseen events will help you retain sanity throughout the process. Not everything is a tragedy and very few things are an emergency. Rarely does anything occur in construction that necessitates you becoming stressed or anguished.

Do Not call your builder 6 times during the day and expect them to stop work to discuss your latest idea or change item. You want them to be paying attention to working at their craft, not spending time on the phone. If you place a call to your builder’s cell phone during the hours of 8 am and 6 pm, it is not unreasonable to expect that they may be actually building something. Call the office and leave a message or send an email.

Do expect a response within 24 hours, whether it is text, email or voice mail.

Do keep changes to a minimum or accept that they will cause delay. It is common to discover changes you want during a project and these items should be communicated to your builder, ideally via email. However, excessive (daily) changes to the scope of work will cause everyone involved a lot of grief.

Do Be Nice. The book “All I Ever Needed in Life I learned in Kindergarten” is a great resource. Since you will be working with whomever you choose for a fairly significant amount of time, it is a much better idea to be nice than to be mean, nasty, grouchy, unpleasant and negative. Treat people how you would like to be treated and require the same courtesy from your builder. We all know that one gets a lot more with honey than one does with vinegar, so act accordingly. Most importantly, ask yourself how you would like to be treated if circumstances were reversed.

Do address issues quickly when they come up. Once again, issues will arise during construction that require discussion. Do talk them through, come to a solution and keep moving forward. Do not get consumed by any single item to the detriment of the entire process.

Do realize that you are paying your builder or contractor for a finished product and not a day to day tutorial on how to elevate a home. Do not expect your builder to condense 20 years of experience into bullet points for constant daily explanations of construction process. Do expect a schedule and time line, updated as needed.

Do realize that every project is a give and take process. Being flexible and accepting changes as they come will allow you to keep your sanity and not be in a small rubber room making baskets at the end of your project.

Dream Homes – Awarded the Best Home Improvement Contractor and Best Modular Home Builder in Ocean County for 2016 by the Asbury Park Press. That’s something we’re very proud of, but we’re even more proud that we’ve recently passed the milestone of 200 completed elevation/renovation projects since Storm Sandy. Dream looks forward to continuing to help New Jersey rebuild in the months and years ahead. Thanks to all the clients and friends who voted for us in that survey!

Though we’re known more for new homes and elevation projects than kitchens and baths, we also do quite a bit of remodeling. An excellent place to start Is at our Custom Modular, Kitchen & Bath design studio at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant, with complete kitchen layouts, flooring selections and our own in house modular home design studio. As necessary parts of the 1900 home projects we’ve completed since 1993, we are well equipped to accommodate your remodeling needs, from the simple to the most complex. Call 609 693 8881 to schedule an appointment or just stop by.

Insulation & Wall Thickness – How Much Is Needed and What’s Involved? Partial repeat from the blog of 11/18/17 and now a permanent part of our definitions section below. One of the most important (hidden) features of your home is the insulation. Under the current building code, your new home must meet stringent standards for efficiency, including heat loss and gain. Your elevation project is also a good time to add extra insulation and it is an excellent improvement on a cost / benefit bases. Energy efficiency is a complex system involving insulation, windows, air circulation, high efficiency furnaces and boilers and other factors. Everything must work together to achieve increased energy efficiency. Read the article in the 11/18/17 blog for more information.

Hurricane Preparation: We again remind you again about common-sense preparations to make for the next hurricane, with a link to the FEMA guide, “How to Prepare for a Hurricane”, which you must print now so you can refer to it if the power goes out. Hurricane Preparation – FEMA Hurricane Prep, Common Sense Reminders & Sobering Statistics: I’ve included it again here because it is so useful. Entitled “FEMA’s guide on How to Prepare for a Hurricane”, it includes tips on what to do before, during and after the storm to protect yourself and your property. Again, print this guide now for your reference – if the power goes out, you won’t be able to access the internet.

Here are a few items from our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section. The October 8th blog has all of them or you can get them from our website at www.dreamhomesltd.com. It’s a useful, concise guide to address common questions and lets you know what you can expect when you choose Dream Homes as your builder.

Solar Power at Home –More Info and link: For the full story check the 10/29/17 blog, and here is the link.

Solar Roofing Shingles – We’ve been looking at solar roofing shingles as another method of generating power through passive solar. I’m not convinced yet that we’re on the right side of cost / benefit yet, based on several factors, but we’re getting there in our analysis. At the least, we’ll probably make it a standard feature in our new Dream Homes at Tallwoods subdivision in Bayville. We’re building 13 homes next year and that amount of houses is a good amount for some fairly aggressive energy efficiency features. One of them is roof shingles that simultaneously act as solar panels.

There are benefits and detriments to this idea, although I love the elegance of it since we’re actually pairing something utilitarian and (a roof) with the potential for positive benefit (electricity generation). For one thing there is no cash (or lease) investment in solar panels and installation, but the solar roof shingles are 3 times as expensive as regular roof shingles. For a typical 2000 square foot, 2 story house with a 5 kw system, you’re saving over $15,000 installing solar roof shingles versus a solar system, but the roof shingles only produce 20% – 25% of the power of a solar array so it is a modest amount of power for a normal house.

A very positive upside from an aesthetic point of view is that there are no ugly panels on your roof. That may or may not be a factor in your decision, but it deserves mention.

Dream Homes & Development Corporation – who we are: As you may know, Dream Homes & Development Corp. (OTCOB: Ticker DREM) is a publicly traded, fully reporting (audited) company, and we’ve just released our 2nd quarter financials. I’m proud to report that sales, earnings and contracts have all increased significantly. Dream is the region’s most trusted new home builder and home improvement contractor and wasrecently awarded the Best Home Improvement Contractor and Best Modular Home Builder in Ocean County for 2016 by the Asbury Park Press. Dream is growing, improving our operations and service and adding new members to our team to better serve you. You can view financials on our web site at www.dreamhomesltd.com. Click on the SEC tab at the bottom of the page for information.

Dream Homes has a main office in Forked River and a Modular Design Center in Point Pleasant, and we’re the only public company doing home elevation work in New Jersey. You can view all the information about us online and if you like us and believe in what we’re doing, we would love to have you as shareholders. For more information and an information package, contact Matt Chipman, our investor relations person. Matt can be reached at (818) 923-5302, (310) 709-5646 or matt@GreenChipIR.com. You can view our operational results and financials at any time on our website at www.dreamhomesltd.com or at www.sec.gov.

Mission Statement and Comment: At Dream Homes, we’re the region’s most trusted builder and we’ll help you when no one else will. We regularly handle messy and unpleasant real estate, construction and renovation situations. We do the elevation, renovation and new home projects that few other people can do, and help people finish and get back in their homes. If you’re stuck and can’t figure out how to proceed, call us and we’ll do our best to help you.

At Dream Homes, we believe that taking on difficult unpopular projects is part of the social contract we have with the community and the Jersey Shore. We’ve never abandoned a client or failed to finish a project – we feel very strongly that it is our obligation to help Sandsters and others in need.

Design & Hiring Your Own Architect:Generally design & architectural fees are usually itemized separately and are (for us) a pass-through cost. In other words, we oversee the entire design process and it costs our clients the same amount (usually much less) of money than if the homeowner deals with the architect directly. This also results in significant savings in both construction design and redesign fees. Remember – the personwho is going to build theproject should be involved in the design from inception, so practical best practices can be designed in from the start.

On another note, please visit our new Dream Homes Jersey Proud Design Center at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant, where you can see modular home plans, kitchens, baths, flooring and tons of fixtures. You’re invited to visit us and see what we have – hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 – 2, closed on Tuesday, with other hours by appointment.

Insulation & Wall Thickness – How Much Is Needed and What’s Involved? See the blog of 11/18/17 for useful information on Insulation technique, wall thicknesses & energy efficiency

Siding, Trim and other Exterior Finishes: See the blog of 8/26/17 for useful information on choices for siding, trim and other finishes.

Decks, more decks and railing…Decks are one of the more popular improvements and one of the easiest ways to add value to your home. Decks fall into 3 main categories – pressure treated, composite and fiberglass. Railings can be pressure treated, vinyl rail or glass.

New Beach Bungalow on your lot from $89,800!! This model is perfect for many small lots in the shore area including Ocean Beach, Lavallette, Ortley and South Seaside Park.

Seaview and Bayview Models: From $149,000 including demolition. These homes are 2-3 bedrooms and 2 baths and suitable for 40-60 foot wide lots. Call 609 693 8881 for details.

Most home improvement contractors and new home builders are unwilling to provide turn-key elevation/renovation projects. It’s messy, requires diverse skill sets and deep administrative support and places all responsibility for everything directly on the builder’s shoulders. Dream Homes regularly perform turn-key renovation and design build projects and will remain as one of the best, solid companies in the years to come.

Why does this matter to you? If a company isn’t committed to being in the line of work for which you are contracting, they will not support it correctly during and after the project. That means less resources (personnel and otherwise) devoted to your project. Currently at Dream Homes, we’ve been actively hiring carpenters, helpers, marketing and support staff for 2 years. We’re committed to the elevation /renovation business and improve every single day – our commitment to provide additional, better resources to our clients is ongoing.

Moral of the story: Try and avoid working with any company not committed to the type of project you are undertaking. Ask to see current projects in process or being started.

Need to Phone a Friend? Need a Rescue? 2017 Scheduling & Priority projects – If you’re stuck in a stalled project for whatever reason (contractor in jail or indicted, bankrupt, lazy, inept, no money, etc.) we’ll help you with a prompt evaluation of your situation. We do consultation and estimates immediately for projects that are stuck. It doesn’t change what happened to you in the past, but at least you’ll know how to get back on track, without chasing someone for a month to get an initial meeting and written estimate. As a note, often we’re the only company willing to finish projects that have been abandoned.

Kathleen M. Dotoli, Esquire – Consumer Protection: Kathleen is a workers’ compensation and disability attorney in Toms River and speaks regularly at our Rebuilding Seminar. Kathy gives an excellent presentation about consumer protection that will save you money and grief. (Next one is Wednesday, December 6th, 2017). Email Kathy at kmdotoli611@aol.com or call her office at 732 228 7534 for a copy of her seminar presentation.

Remember – if you have a specific question, send me an email or a text. Don’t wait for a seminar or a site visit to clarify a point. Whether you are a Dream Homes client or not, I’ll always try and help you or guide you in the right direction. If you’ve sent an email or left a voice mail and haven’t received a response, try and contact me again. Messages are lost occasionally.

Note to Sandsters: Though I write this blog and hold the seminars to help guide homeowners through the maze that is any reconstruction project, Dream Homes does what I write about. Dream Homes & Development Corp. and Dream Building LLC are new home builders and general contractors who are actively renovating and reconstructing projects up and down the shore. We supervise and manage elevation projects & house moves, demolish and build new homes, and develop and build entire new neighborhoods. In the past 23 years, we’ve completed over 1500 new homes, 190 elevation projects and 500,000 square feet of commercial buildings. 28 of our elevation projects have been rescue projects, where we came in to save a homeowner when someone else left. Dream builds new homes, demolishes existing damaged homes, elevates and move homes, complete additions and renovations and rescues homeowners when their other contractors abandon them. We work with private clients as well as Path B clients in the RREM program. Call, text or email to set up an appointment for a free estimate on your rebuilding project.

That’s all for today Sandsters. I hope my words helps you move forward. As always, call or write with any questions.

I hope this blog finds you well. It’s been a busy few weeks, with new clients and many projects starting, and we also have some new items for you today as you get ready for Thanksgiving next week. One important article deals with insulation and options you have when building a new home or raising a home, to increase your energy efficiency.

Welcome New Clients: Dream Homes signed 4 new clients in the last 2 weeks and it’s a real assortment of projects – 1 new home, 1 elevation, a kitchen remodel and a master bath project. We welcome our new clients to the Dream Homes family and thank them for putting their trust in us! A special thanks to Chris & Janice in Surf City, who are trusting us with a difficult move directly on the beach.

New Home Developments & Projects: If you’ve been following the blog and website, you know we’re working on 2 developments in Ocean County (details are below for the 13 single-family lots and the 58 townhomes). In the last few weeks, we’ve also signed 2 new letters of intent for new developments which will start next summer and fall. One is for a 74 townhouse project in Bayville which should start construction in Fall of 2018 and offer townhomes from $225,000. The other development is 80 single-family lots located in Mickleton, where 3000 – 4000 square foot homes will start from $590,000. The new home developments Dream Homes currently has in planning and development encompass 3-4 years of new home construction starting in early 2018 and will include townhomes and single family homes priced from $225,000.

Dream Homes – Awarded the Best Home Improvement Contractor and Best Modular Home Builder in Ocean County for 2016 by the Asbury Park Press. That’s something we’re very proud of, but we’re even more proud that we’ve recently passed the milestone of 200 completed elevation/renovation projects since Storm Sandy. Dream looks forward to continuing to help New Jersey rebuild in the months and years ahead. Thanks to all the clients and friends who voted for us in that survey!

Urgent Notice: I keep saying it, but it bears repeating – Get your contracts signed now, so plans can be submitted and your project can start before January and be finished in time for summer. If you’re going to move forward anyway, there’s no sense waiting to start paperwork until after the New Year. There is a ton of work that happens before the construction begins on a project, and if you know you’re going to commit to your project, don’t wait for the last minute. Pick a contractor or builder and get started. There is another section below with more detail and some time-saving tips.

Though we’re known more for new homes and elevation projects than kitchens and baths, we also do quite a bit of remodeling. An excellent place to start Is at our Custom Modular, Kitchen & Bath design studio at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant, with complete kitchen layouts, flooring selections and our own in house modular home design studio. As necessary parts of the 1900 home projects we’ve completed since 1993, we are well equipped to accommodate your remodeling needs, from the simple to the most complex. Call 609 693 8881 to schedule an appointment or just stop by.

Insulation & Wall Thickness – How Much Is Needed and What’s Involved? One of the most important (hidden) features of your home is the insulation. Under the current building code, your new home must meet stringent standards for efficiency, including heat loss and gain. Your elevation project is also a good time to add extra insulation and it is an excellent improvement on a cost / benefit bases. Though many people think you can simply add more insulation to create a tighter building envelope, energy efficiency is a complex system involving insulation, windows, air circulation, high efficiency furnaces and boilers and other factors. Everything works together to achieve the energy efficiency that is needed.

Though it is not necessary by code to frame walls with 2” x 6” studs instead of 2” x 4” studs, if you want to increase your fiberglass insulation from R13 to R19, you need the extra depth of the wall cavity to allow this. Since fiberglass batt insulation cannot be compressed without losing a

portion of its R value, you cannot fit R 19 insulation in a 2” x 4” wall. One alternative to increase R value is to install a rigid foam insulation board on the outside of the wall sheathing in addition to the insulation in the wall. This helps prevent cold and heat from intruding into the building envelope, and allows the wall insulation to be more effective. Foam board is an additional cost, but you can increase R value by 4 -10 points with this technique.

When insulating your floor, either after an elevation or with a new home, R19 is the minimum, but R21 or even R30 can be used (depending on the height of the floor joists). Since most floor joists are 2” x 10”, R30 can be installed without compromising efficiency, and the cost difference is relatively small (material increase only, since labor is the same) considering the overall benefit.

Another option is rigid foam insulation, which is sprayed on. Though it is generally 2-3 times more costly than fiberglass insulation, it has a higher R value in a much smaller depth and can be used instead of, or in conjunction with, normal batt insulation to achieve higher overall energy efficiency. Spending additional money on insulation leads directly to energy savings that last forever.

Hurricane Preparation: We again remind you again about common-sense preparations to make for the next hurricane, with a link to the FEMA guide, “How to Prepare for a Hurricane”, which you must print now so you can refer to it if the power goes out. Hurricane Preparation – FEMA Hurricane Prep, Common Sense Reminders & Sobering Statistics: I’ve included it again here because it is so useful. Entitled “FEMA’s guide on How to Prepare for a Hurricane”, it includes tips on what to do before, during and after the storm to protect yourself and your property. Again, print this guide now for your reference – if the power goes out, you won’t be able to access the internet. https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1494007144395-b0e215ae1ba6ac1b556f084e190e5862/FEMA_2017_Hurricane_HTP_FINAL.pdf

Manditory Builder & Contractor Licensing & Testing Needed in New Jersey (partial repeat): In the last blog I spoke about the need to have manditory licensing with testing in NJ for new home builders and home improvement contractors. I stand by that statement and will reiterate it over and over. Builders should be licensed and regulated in NJ and require proficiency testing. Home building and home improvement contracting does not currently require testing.

As readers of this blog know, I am not a fan of additional regulation or governmental interference in our lives. However, it is our opinion that New Home Builders and Home Improvement Contractors should not only be licensed, but that proficiency testing as well as the corresponding continuing education credits should be required. See the last blog for more detail and the rest of the licensing article.

Nearly Famous Rebuilding Seminar –Wednesday December 6th, 2017 – See us in person and or watch us on Facebook Live!

Our next Rebuilding Seminar will be held Wednesday December 6th, 2017 from 6 pm at the Tuscan Bar and Grill on Hooper Avenue in Toms River, across from the Ocean County Mall. We’ll be joined by Kathleen Dotoli, Esquire, Jason Devooght (Devooght House Lifters) and one of our architects or engineers. We’ll also be streaming it on Facebook Live and be online if you want to email questions or comments while the seminar is under way. We had over 50 people join us on Facebook at the last seminar and took questions from people who couldn’t make it to the seminar, which was an excellent addition to our program.

If you’re planning a project, whether a new home, elevation or renovation, and you haven’t already attended one of our seminars, come for helpful information from our excellent speakers that will get you started on the right track. We focus on homeowners early in the rebuilding process, who haven’t completed design work, or chosen a builder or architect.

We talk about architectural and engineering planning, construction technique, RREM guidance, help with choosing the right builder and consumer safety cautions when dealing with him (or her), financing your project, comments and tips about home elevation in general. We also talk about RREM issues, (the lunacy of) managing your own project, and ways to avoid delays and going over budget. So, mark the date and call 609 693 8881 or 732 300 5619 to reserve your space if you want to attend. Pizza and wine will be served and space is limited.

Dream Homes FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) Partial Repeat

Here are a few items from our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section. The October 8th blog has all of them or you can get them from our website at http://www.dreamhomesltd.com. It’s a useful, concise guide to address common questions and lets you know what you can expect when you choose Dream Homes as your builder.

We’ve compiled a list of common questions about new home construction, structural moving services, home elevation, home renovation and selling your property to help you to better understand the process. Our FAQ list is organized into categories including General, Home Elevation & House Moving, and New Home Construction. Our clients have found this list to be helpful when planning a construction project or navigating through the construction process and we hope you’ll also find it useful. I included two FAQ’s today. For the full list, go to the October 8th blog, or our website at http://www.dreamhomesltd.com.

General – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Partial – See 10-8-17 blog for the full list of FAQ’s.

Q: How long should my project take from start to finish?

A: Depending on the level of complexity and size of your project, and whether it is a new home or an elevation/renovation project, the average time to complete a project (counted from the receipt of a building permit) varies from 3-7 months. If you do not have architectural plans, you should also allow 2-3 months at the beginning of the process for soil

Q: How do I decide whether to elevate/renovate my home or to demolish and build new?

A: The answer to this question is multifaceted and dependent on many factors. If your home was built before 2000, is a single-story and is built on a slab foundation, it is probably more cost-effective and energy efficient to demolish your home and build new. If your home was built after the year 2000, is 2 stories and is built on a crawl foundation, it probably makes the best economic sense to do a perform a home elevation and renovate your home.

Two very positive aspects of new construction are energy efficiency and construction quality. A new energy efficient home can save you 30% – 50% from your current utility bills. As far as construction quality, building codes have been updated 5 times since 2000. The homes we are building now in NJ are vastly superior in safety and quality than those built just 20 years ago.

There are many factors that go into this raise/renovate or build new decision so it is difficult to quantify in a few sentences. Your best option is to contact us for a free consultation so we can meet and review your options.

See the October 8th blog for all the FAQ’s or check our website.

Important Repeat: Getting Started for late Fall/early Winter starts – If you haven’t submitted your plans for a late fall start, well, stop reading this blog (as fascinating as it may be) and call your licensed New Jersey builder or registered home improvement contractor and instruct him to prepare and submit your permit package right now. Though not completely necessary in NJ, it is much better to start your project prior to the first week of January, when difficult weather can become a factor in the schedule. This way you can also expect to be back in by late spring. Remember: Zoning and Building are separate functions and offices. You can (and should) submit your zoning package while you’re assembling your permit package, so you can save time and received your approved permit more quickly.

Repeat – Solar Power at Home – Shouldn’t it work when the grid goes down?? One would certainly think so, but one would generally be wrong. I’ve included a link to a short article in Builder Magazine, but the summary is that the inverter and the entire solar array are run by power from the grid, and when the power stops, your solar array won’t continue to generate energy.

So, for your system to actually work when the power goes out, you will need a battery backup system, which will run the inverter when there’s no power from the grid. The Tesla Power Wall is the most notable example, but there are others. Note: The inverter converts the direct current (DC) which comes from the sun into alternating current (which is what everything in the house runs on). No battery – no inverter – no solar power generation. This is not a tidbit of info you want to discover when the power is out and you’re expecting your home solar system to keep right on making electricity only to find out that it won’t. See the article here http://www.builderonline.com/building/building-science/can-homeowners-use-rooftop-solar-power-during-an-emergency

Dream Homes & Development Corporation – who we are: As you may know, Dream Homes & Development Corp. (OTCOB: Ticker DREM) is a publicly traded, fully reporting (audited) company, and we’ve just released our 2nd quarter financials. I’m proud to report that sales, earnings and contracts have all increased significantly. Dream is the region’s most trusted new home builder and home improvement contractor and was recently awarded the Best Home Improvement Contractor and Best Modular Home Builder in Ocean County for 2016 by the Asbury Park Press. Dream is growing, improving our operations and service and adding new members to our team to better serve you. You can view financials on our web site at http://www.dreamhomesltd.com. Click on the SEC tab at the bottom of the page for information.

Dream Homes has a main office in Forked River and a Modular Design Center in Point Pleasant, and we’re the only public company doing home elevation work in New Jersey. You can view all the information about us online and if you like us and believe in what we’re doing, we would love to have you as shareholders. For more information and an information package, contact Matt Chipman, our investor relations person. Matt can be reached at (818) 923-5302, (310) 709-5646 or matt@GreenChipIR.com. You can view our operational results and financials at any time on our website at http://www.dreamhomesltd.com or at http://www.sec.gov.

Mission Statement and Comment: At Dream Homes, we’re the region’s most trusted builder and we’ll help you when no one else will. We regularly handle messy and unpleasant real estate, construction and renovation situations. We do the elevation, renovation and new home projects that few other people can do, and help people finish and get back in their homes. If you’re stuck and can’t figure out how to proceed, call us and we’ll do our best to help you.

At Dream Homes, we believe that taking on difficult unpopular projects is part of the social contract we have with the community and the Jersey Shore. We’ve never abandoned a client or failed to finish a project – we feel very strongly that it is our obligation to help Sandsters and others in need.

Design & Hiring Your Own Architect: Generally design & architectural fees are usually itemized separately and are (for us) a pass-through cost. In other words, we oversee the entire design process and it costs our clients the same amount (usually much less) of money than if the homeowner deals with the architect directly. This also results in significant savings in both construction design and redesign fees. Remember – the person who is going to build the project should be involved in the design from inception, so practical best practices can be designed in from the start.

On another note, please visit our new Dream Homes Jersey Proud Design Center at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant, where you can see modular home plans, kitchens, baths, flooring and tons of fixtures. You’re invited to visit us and see what we have – hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 – 2, closed on Tuesday, with other hours by appointment.

Siding, Trim and other Exterior Finishes: See the last blog of 8/26/17 for useful information on choices for siding, trim and other finishes.

Decks, more decks and railing…Decks are one of the more popular improvements and one of the easiest ways to add value to your home. Decks fall into 3 main categories – pressure treated, composite and fiberglass. Railings can be pressure treated, vinyl rail or glass.

New Beach Bungalow on your lot from $89,800!! This model is perfect for many small lots in the shore area including Ocean Beach, Lavallette, Ortley and South Seaside Park.

Seaview and Bayview Models: From $149,000 including demolition. These homes are 2-3 bedrooms and 2 baths and suitable for 40-60 foot wide lots. Call 609 693 8881 for details.

Most home improvement contractors and new home builders are unwilling to provide turn-key elevation/renovation projects. It’s messy, requires diverse skill sets and deep administrative support and places all responsibility for everything directly on the builder’s shoulders. Dream Homes regularly perform turn-key renovation and design build projects and will remain as one of the best, solid companies in the years to come.

Why does this matter to you? If a company isn’t committed to being in the line of work for which you are contracting, they will not support it correctly during and after the project. That means less resources (personnel and otherwise) devoted to your project. Currently at Dream Homes, we’ve been actively hiring carpenters, helpers, marketing and support staff for 2 years. We’re committed to the elevation /renovation business and improve every single day – our commitment to provide additional, better resources to our clients is ongoing.

Moral of the story: Try and avoid working with any company not committed to the type of project you are undertaking. Ask to see current projects in process or being started.

Need to Phone a Friend? Need a Rescue? 2017 Scheduling & Priority projects – If you’re stuck in a stalled project for whatever reason (contractor in jail or indicted, bankrupt, lazy, inept, no money, etc.) we’ll help you with a prompt evaluation of your situation. We do consultation and estimates immediately for projects that are stuck. It doesn’t change what happened to you in the past, but at least you’ll know how to get back on track, without chasing someone for a month to get an initial meeting and written estimate. As a note, often we’re the only company willing to finish projects that have been abandoned.

Kathleen M. Dotoli, Esquire – Consumer Protection: Kathleen is a workers’ compensation and disability attorney in Toms River and speaks regularly at our Rebuilding Seminar. Kathy gives an excellent presentation about consumer protection that will save you money and grief. (Next one is Wednesday, December 6th, 2017). Email Kathy at kmdotoli611@aol.com or call her office at 732 228 7534 for a copy of her seminar presentation.

Remember – if you have a specific question, send me an email or a text. Don’t wait for a seminar or a site visit to clarify a point. Whether you are a Dream Homes client or not, I’ll always try and help you or guide you in the right direction. If you’ve sent an email or left a voice mail and haven’t received a response, try and contact me again. Messages are lost occasionally.

Note to Sandsters: Though I write this blog and hold the seminars to help guide homeowners through the maze that is any reconstruction project, Dream Homes does what I write about. Dream Homes & Development Corp. and Dream Building LLC are new home builders and general contractors who are actively renovating and reconstructing projects up and down the shore. We supervise and manage elevation projects & house moves, demolish and build new homes, and develop and build entire new neighborhoods. In the past 23 years, we’ve completed over 1500 new

homes, 190 elevation projects and 500,000 square feet of commercial buildings. 28 of our elevation projects have been rescue projects, where we came in to save a homeowner when someone else left. Dream builds new homes, demolishes existing damaged homes, elevates and move homes, complete additions and renovations and rescues homeowners when their other contractors abandon them. We work with private clients as well as Path B clients in the RREM program. Call, text or email to set up an appointment for a free estimate on your rebuilding project.

That’s all for today Sandsters. I hope my words helps you move forward. As always, call or write with any questions.

It’s fitting that it’s raining today, because it’s October 29th, a day that tens of thousands of us will not forget for a long time. As I sit here today on the 5th anniversary of Storm Sandy, I can’t help but think about all we’ve been through and how our lives, and the Jersey Shore have completely changed. We’re tougher now, and smarter, and certainly more aware of how life can change in a minute. Many of us have wound up in a better place after much heartache, and many more of us have never fully recovered from the effects of that storm. It will be another 15 years until we build through this completely and the landscape, our habits and our fears have changed forever. We’re better than any storm though, and we’ll keep trying to improve our lives and communities every day.

On the good news front, Dream Homes wasrecently awarded the Best Home Improvement Contractor and Best Modular Home Builder in Ocean County for 2017 by the Asbury Park Press. That’s something we’re very proud of, but we’re even more proud that we’ve recently passed the milestone of 200 completed elevation/renovation projects since Storm Sandy. Dream looks forward to continuing to help New Jersey rebuild in the months and years ahead. Thanks to all the clients and friends who voted for us in that survey!

Today, I’ve again posted some items from our new FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section. The October 8th blog has all of them or you can get them from our website at www.dreamhomesltd.com. It’s a useful, concise guide to address common questions and lets you know what you can expect when you choose Dream Homes as your builder.

We remind you again about common-sense preparations to make for the next hurricane, with a link to the FEMA guide, “How to Prepare for a Hurricane.” We offer a useful link from Builder Magazine about home solar systems – and how they don’t work when the grid goes down (unbelievably).

Most importantly, we repeat – it’s time to get plans submitted and to get going on your project so you can start before January and be finished before late Spring.

Licensing – New Jersey – Wake up and smell the toast burning and get on board with licensing and testing!! Dream Homes has recently gotten licensed for all residential and commercial construction in Florida, which required a 3-part test, comprising 12 hours of testing on site as well as an online portion. This leads me to talk about how we need to have mandatory licensing with testing in NJ for new home builders and home improvement contractors. Currently, there are about a zillion separate trades that are licensed and regulated in NJ and require proficiency testing. Home building and home improvement contracting does not require testing.

As readers of this blog know, I am not a fan of additional regulation or governmental interference in our lives. However – It is our opinion that New Home Builders and Home Improvement Contractors should not only be licensed, but that proficiency testing as well as the corresponding continuing education credits should be required.

Currently, only 2 states require testing to obtain a new home builder or home improvement contractor license – Florida and Texas. The real question is why? One takes tests to pass the bar and practice law, pass the real estate exam, pass the insurance exam, sell securities or annuities, and numerous other vocations. There is a test for home inspectors and pest control specialists. Plumbers, electricians and HVAC contractors are licensed. All of these trades must be tested.

In NJ, you need to demonstrate that you are breathing, have liability insurance and have not been convicted of a violent crime. That describes a subset of 98% of the population. Insane.

New home construction and certainly advanced home improvement contracting involving elevation and renovation is vastly more complex than most licensed trades in NJ and as complex as the most demanding ones listed above.

How ridiculous is it that we do not test for proficiency in a trade which is complex, ever changing, requires in depth knowledge of numerous categories and cannot simply be done by anyone with a hammer? Completely absurd.

It is my opinion that if we required testing in NJ for building trades, over 90% of the fraud and mismanagement would not have occurred over the last 5 years.

I hate to get on the bandwagon for more regulation, but we’re going to bang this drum for a while. The entire level of the game will change, be elevated and immediately protect homeowners from poor workmanship and fraudulent behavior.

Dream Homes FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) Partial Repeat

We’ve compiled a list of common questions about new home construction, structural moving services, home elevation, home renovation and selling your property to help you to better understand the process. Our FAQ list is organized into categories including General, Home Elevation & House Moving, and New Home Construction. Our clients have found this list to be helpful when planning a construction project or navigating through the construction process and we hope you’ll also find it useful. I reprinted only one question from each section. For the full list, go to the October 8th blog, or our website at www.dreamhomesltd.com.

General – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Why should I use Dream Homes for my home elevation or new home construction project? I’ve also heard you were a publicly traded company – what does that mean to me?Dream Homes & Development Corporation is also a publicly traded, audited company, and we trade under the ticker symbol DREM. Being fully audited means you can review our history, financials and performance at any time and be very comfortable that you are dealing with a solid company who will successfully complete your project. In addition, we are the only public company performing elevation and renovation projects in New Jersey.

A: The most important reason to choose Dream Homes is that we’re the region’s most trusted builder and your best choice for a licensed New Home Builder or registered Home Improvement Contractor in NJ. Our team has been building, elevating and renovating homes in New Jersey since 1993, and we’ve successfully completed over 1700 new homes and over 200 elevation projects. Most importantly – we’re never finished with a project until you are satisfied.

A: Depending on the level of complexity and size of your project, and whether it is a new home or an elevation/renovation project, the average time to complete a project (counted from the receipt of a building permit) varies from 3-7 months. If you do not have architectural plans, you should also allow 2-3 months at the beginning of the process for soil studies, architectural and engineering design, and township issuance of permits. Please review additional detail regarding project duration under the New Homes FAQ section below.

Q: What do I need to move from my house before a home elevation? How should I prepare?If your house is on a crawl or basement, there is little you will need to do to prepare. We recommend laying any delicate collectibles down flat, and possibly taking heavy mirrors or wall hangings off the walls. Generally, there is little else that must be done to prepare for a house lift or move. On the other hand, if your home is on a slab, all items on the first floor must be removed and stored either on site or off. This is because the slab (which is currently your floor) remains in place when the house is elevated, and a new floor system is constructed which sits on top of the new foundation.

A: It depends on if your home is on a crawl or basement foundation, or it is on a slab foundation.

See October 8th blog for additional FAQ ’s on this subject

New Home Construction with Dream Homes – Site Built and Custom Modular – Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I decide whether to elevate/renovate my home or to demolish and build new? Two very positive aspects of new construction are energy efficiency and construction quality. A new energy efficient home can save you 30% – 50% from your current utility bills. As far as construction quality, building codes have been updated 5 times since 2000. The homes we are building now in NJ are vastly superior in safety and quality than those built just 20 years ago. There are many factors that go into this raise/renovate or build new decision so it is difficult to quantify in a few sentences. Your best option is to contact us for a free consultation so we can meet and review your options. A: The answer to this question is multifaceted and dependent on many factors. If your home was built before 2000, is a single-story and is built on a slab foundation, it is probably more cost-effective and energy efficient to demolish your home and build new. If your home was built after the year 2000, is 2 stories and is built on a crawl foundation, it probably makes the best economic sense to do a perform a home elevation and renovate your home.

Q: How do I decide whether to choose a site built home or custom modular? Is there a price or quality difference? Depending on the type and size of the house you are considering, there may be a cost and time savings to choosing modular construction over site built construction. Another factor is the number of changes that you think you might make during the construction process. It is difficult and costly to make changes in a modular home project, where a site-built home offers more flexibility with making changes. Contrary of what is commonly believed, there is generally no difference in the quality of construction between site built and modular construction.

A: Both site built and custom modular homes can be suitable for different needs and locations. Though Dream Homes has built more than 1700 new homes since 1993 with the majority of them being site built, we recently acquired a modular construction company and design showroom to meet the demand for custom modular homes.

See October 8th blog for FAQ #’s 3 – 10

Nearly Famous Rebuilding Seminar –Wednesday December 6th, 2017 – See us in person and or watch us on Facebook Live!

Our next Rebuilding Seminar will be held Wednesday December 6th, 2017 from 6 pm at the Tuscan Bar and Grill on Hooper Avenue in Toms River, across from the Ocean County Mall. We’ll be joined by Kathleen Dotoli, Esquire, Jason Devooght (Devooght House Lifters) and one of our architects or engineers. We’ll also be streaming it on Facebook Live and be online if you want to email questions or comments while the seminar is under way. We had over 50 people join us on Facebook at the last seminar and took questions from people who couldn’t make it to the seminar, which was an excellent addition to our program.

If you’re planning a project, whether a new home, elevation or renovation, and you haven’t already attended one of our seminars, come for helpful information from our excellent speakers that will get you started on the right track. We focus on homeowners early in the rebuilding process, who haven’t completed design work, or chosen a builder or architect.

We talk about architectural and engineering planning, construction technique, RREM guidance, help with choosing the right builder and consumer safety cautions when dealing with him (or her), financing your project, comments and tips about home elevation in general. We also talk about RREM issues, (the lunacy of) managing your own project, and ways to avoid delays and going over budget. So, mark the date and call 609 693 8881 or 732 300 5619 to reserve your space if you want to attend. Pizza and wine will be served and space is limited.

Hurricane Preparation – FEMA Hurricane Prep, Common Sense Reminders & Sobering Statistics: I’ve included it here because it is so useful. Entitled “FEMA’s guide on How to Prepare for a Hurricane”, it includes tips on what to do before, during and after the storm to protect yourself and your property.

It’s been almost five years since Storm Sandy hit New Jersey and although we hope to never experience another storm like that, with each passing year the storms are becoming more frequent and more intense. Print this guide out for your reference – if the power goes out, you won’t be able to access the internet.

Important Repeat: Getting Started for late Fall/early Winter starts – If you haven’t submitted your plans for a late fall start, well, stop reading this blog (as fascinating as it may be) and call your licensed New Jersey builder or registered home improvement contractor and instruct him to prepare and submit your permit package right now. Though not completely necessary in NJ, it is much better to start your project prior to the first week of January, when difficult weather can become a factor in the schedule. This way you can also expect to be back in by late spring. Remember: Zoning and Building are separate functions and offices. You can (and should) submit your zoning package while you’re assembling your permit package, so you can save time and received your approved permit more quickly.

Repeat – Solar Power at Home – Shouldn’t it work when the grid goes down?? One would certainly think so, but one would generally be wrong. I’ve included a link to a short article in Builder Magazine, but the summary is that the inverter and the entire solar array are run by power from the grid, and when the power stops, your solar array won’t continue to generate energy.

So, for your system to actually work when the power goes out, you will need a battery backup system, which will run the inverter when there’s no power from the grid. Note: The inverter converts the direct current (DC) which comes from the sun into alternating current (which is what everything in the house runs on). No battery – no inverter – no solar power generation. This is not a tidbit of info you want to discover when the power is out and you’re expecting your home solar system to keep right on making electricity only to find out that it won’t. See the article here

Dream Homes & Development Corporation – who we are: As you may know, Dream Homes & Development Corp. (OTCOB: Ticker DREM) is a publicly traded, fully reporting (audited) company, and we’ve just released our 2nd quarter financials. I’m proud to report that sales, earnings and contracts have all increased significantly. Dream is the region’s most trusted new home builder and home improvement contractor and wasrecently awarded the Best Home Improvement Contractor and Best Modular Home Builder in Ocean County for 2016 by the Asbury Park Press. Dream is growing, improving our operations and service and adding new members to our team to better serve you. You can view financials on our web site at www.dreamhomesltd.com. Click on the SEC tab at the bottom of the page for information.

Dream Homes has a main office in Forked River and a Modular Design Center in Point Pleasant, and we’re the only public company doing home elevation work in New Jersey. You can view all the information about us online and if you like us and believe in what we’re doing, we would love to have you as shareholders. For more information and an information package, contact Matt Chipman, our investor relations person. Matt can be reached at (818) 923-5302, (310) 709-5646 or matt@GreenChipIR.com. You can view our operational results and financials at any time on our website at www.dreamhomesltd.com or at www.sec.gov.

Mission Statement and Comment: At Dream Homes, we’re the region’s most trusted builder and we’ll help you when no one else will. We regularly handle messy and unpleasant real estate, construction and renovation situations. We do the elevation, renovation and new home projects that few other people can do, and help people finish and get back in their homes. If you’re stuck and can’t figure out how to proceed, call us and we’ll do our best to help you.

At Dream Homes, we believe that taking on difficult unpopular projects is part of the social contract we have with the community and the Jersey Shore. We’ve never abandoned a client or failed to finish a project – we feel very strongly that it is our obligation to help Sandsters and others in need.

Permit fees, Design & Hiring Your Own Architect:Generally, permit fees are paid by the homeowner, since they can’t usually be determined at the start of a project. Design & architectural fees are usually itemized separately and are (for us) a pass-through cost. In other words, we oversee the entire design process and it costs our clients the same amount (usually much less) of money than if the homeowner deals with the architect directly. This also results in significant savings in both construction design and redesign fees. Remember – the personwho is going to build theproject should be involved in the design from inception, so practical best practices can be designed in from the start.

On another note, please visit our new Dream Homes Jersey Proud Design Center at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant, where you can see modular home plans, kitchens, baths, flooring and tons of fixtures. You’re invited to visit us and see what we have – hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 – 2, closed on Tuesday, with other hours by appointment.

Siding, Trim and other Exterior Finishes: See the last blog of 8/26/17 for useful information on choices for siding, trim and other finishes.

Decks, more decks and railing…Decks are one of the more popular improvements and one of the easiest ways to add value to your home. Decks fall into 3 main categories – pressure treated, composite and fiberglass. Railings can be pressure treated, vinyl rail or glass.

New Beach Bungalow on your lot from $89,800!! This model is perfect for many small lots in the shore area including Ocean Beach, Lavallette, Ortley and South Seaside Park.

Seaview and Bayview Models: From $149,000 including demolition. These homes are 2-3 bedrooms and 2 baths and suitable for 40-60 foot wide lots. Call 609 693 8881 for details.

Most home improvement contractors and new home builders are unwilling to provide turn-key elevation/renovation projects. It’s messy, requires diverse skill sets and deep administrative support and places all responsibility for everything directly on the builder’s shoulders. Dream Homes regularly perform turn-key renovation and design build projects and will remain as one of the best, solid companies in the years to come.

Why does this matter to you? If a company isn’t committed to being in the line of work for which you are contracting, they will not support it correctly during and after the project. That means less resources (personnel and otherwise) devoted to your project. Currently at Dream Homes, we’ve been actively hiring carpenters, helpers, marketing and support staff for 2 years. We’re committed to the elevation /renovation business and improve every single day – our commitment to provide additional, better resources to our clients is ongoing.

Moral of the story: Try and avoid working with any company not committed to the type of project you are undertaking. Ask to see current projects in process or being started.

Need to Phone a Friend? Need a Rescue? 2017 Scheduling & Priority projects – If you’re stuck in a stalled project for whatever reason (contractor in jail or indicted, bankrupt, lazy, inept, no money, etc.) we’ll help you with a prompt evaluation of your situation. We do consultation and estimates immediately for projects that are stuck. It doesn’t change what happened to you in the past, but at least you’ll know how to get back on track, without chasing someone for a month to get an initial meeting and written estimate. As a note, often we’re the only company willing to finish projects that have been abandoned.

New Dream Homes Modular Division – Design, Kitchen & Bath Studio –

Come see our Dream Homes Jersey Proud Custom Modular design studio at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point, with complete kitchen, flooring & modular home design studio. See Lou, who has a wealth of experience in modular construction as well as kitchen and bath design. Call 609 693 8881 to schedule an appointment or just stop by.

Kathleen M. Dotoli, Esquire – Consumer Protection: Kathleen is a workers’ compensation and disability attorney in Toms River and speaks regularly at our Rebuilding Seminar. Kathy gives an excellent presentation about consumer protection that will save you money and grief. (Next one is Wednesday, October 11th, 2017). Email Kathy at kmdotoli611@aol.com or call her office at 732 228 7534 for a copy of her seminar presentation.

Remember – if you have a specific question, send me an email or a text. Don’t wait for a seminar or a site visit to clarify a point. Whether you are a Dream Homes client or not, I’ll always try and help you or guide you in the right direction. If you’ve sent an email or left a voice mail and haven’t received a response, try and contact me again. Messages are lost occasionally.

Note to Sandsters: Though I write this blog and hold the seminars to help guide homeowners through the maze that is any reconstruction project, Dream Homes does what I write about. Dream Homes & Development Corp. and Dream Building LLC are new home builders and general contractors who are actively renovating and reconstructing projects up and down the shore. We supervise and manage elevation projects & house moves, demolish and build new homes, and develop and build entire new neighborhoods. In the past 23 years, we’ve completed over 1500 new homes, 190 elevation projects and 500,000 square feet of commercial buildings. 28 of our elevation projects have been rescue projects, where we came in to save a homeowner when someone else left. Dream builds new homes, demolishes existing damaged homes, elevates and move homes, complete additions and renovations and rescues homeowners when their other contractors abandon them. We work with private clients as well as Path B clients in the RREM program. Call, text or email to set up an appointment for a free estimate on your rebuilding project.

That’s all for today Sandsters. I hope my words helps you move forward. As always, call or write with any questions.

Today I have a few useful things for you. Most importantly, we send our thoughts and prayers to the folks in Texas, who are having a really rough 4 days with Hurricane Harvey, Category 4 winds and 24”-30” of rain. On a smaller scale, here in New Jersey we’ve been there and done that, and it’s not fun at all. We sincerely wish you the best.

On another note, Dream Homes (DREM) just released 2nd quarter 2017 financials so we discuss some of the high points and invite you to learn more about us online. We introduce a new member of the Dream Team, Theresa Nichols, who has joined us as a Project Coordinator to improve our construction speed and client services. We review our August 16th seminar and remind you about our next Rebuilding Seminar which is Wednesday, October 11th, live at Tuscan Bistro and streamed on the internet on Facebook Live. We talk about the Toms River Home Show on October 28 & 29th at the Pine Belt Arena in Toms River, where we’ll be exhibiting.

For our construction focus for today, we discuss siding & finish options for elevation projects or new homes that are 9 feet off the ground. We again discuss our topic about change orders for your projects and the inherent delays.

Finally, we again mention our new Dream Homes Jersey Proud Design Center at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant, where you can see modular home plans, kitchens, baths, flooring and tons of fixtures. You’re invited to visit us and see what we have – hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 – 2, closed on Tuesday, with other hours by appointment.

Dream Homes – who we are: As you may know, Dream Homes & Development Corp. (OTCOB: Ticker DREM) is a publicly traded, fully reporting (audited) company, and we’ve just released our 2nd quarter financials. I’m proud to report that sales, earnings and contracts have all increased significantly. Dream is growing, improving our operations and service and adding new members to our team to better serve you. You can view financials on our web site at www.dreamhomesltd.com. Click on the SEC tab at the bottom of the page for information.

Dream Homes has a main office in Forked River and a Modular Design Center in Point Pleasant, and we’re the only public company doing home elevation work in New Jersey. You can view all the information about us online – if you like us and believe in what we’re doing, we would love to have you as shareholders. For more information and an information package, contact Matt Chipman, our investor relations person. Matt can be reached at (818) 923-5302, (310) 709-5646 or matt@GreenChipIR.com. You can view our operational results and financials at any time on our website at www.dreamhomesltd.com or at www.sec.gov.

Welcome to our new Project Coordinator, Theresa Nichols: We’ve recently created a new position at Dream and brought Theresa Nichols in to help coordinate communication between our clients and our construction team. Theresa was with Dream a few years ago, brings a wealth of experience to the Dream Team and we’re delighted to have her back. Theresa was formerly a regional manager for Bed, Bath & Beyond and supervised over 30 locations throughout New Jersey. She’s now bringing her skills and positive personality to better coordinate construction scheduling and client contact during projects. As a client of Dream Homes, you’ll deal with Theresa directly while your project is under construction. Welcome back Theresa!

Siding, Trim and other Exterior Finishes: Siding and exterior finishes are a very important part of any construction project, and with elevated homes (whether new or renovation) there are a greater number of options than with many normal construction projects.

When a home is elevated, or a new home is built that is 6, 7, 8 or 9 feet from the ground, you have many options for siding and finishes.

With existing elevated homes, if siding is not replaced and there is no wall or surround being built on the lower level, it is a good idea to consider Azek or other style of trim board at the bottom of the siding to finish it, as well as to serve as a visual break between the existing siding and the new lower level. Trim board, which is usually white, comes in 4”, 6”, 8”, 10”, 12” and 16” widths and the most common widths are 6” & 8”. Though it is primarily an aesthetic choice, choosing the correct width has much to do with the size of the house and the elevation from grade. A single-story house that is elevated 5’ from grade, might use a 4” or 6” trim board, while with a 2-story house elevated 9’ from grade, an 8” or 10” wide trim would look more appropriate.

When homes are elevated to a full 9’ from grade, often a “skirt wall” is built around the lower level, to create an enclosed “basement”. Commonly it is pressure treated lumber with a cement board exterior. Cement board comes in many colors, though tan, grey & white are common choices.

From a design standpoint, you do not have to try and match the existing siding on the house, but instead can choose a complimentary or even contrasting color. One common theme is to choose a darker color on the lower level, install a white trim board between the lower and upper levels, and then choose (or complement existing) lighter color siding. Another method is the exact opposite, with a lighter shade for the lower level, and a darker color above. Colors can be in the same family, with different shades, or contrasting. If contrasting colors are used, it is a good idea to try and introduce one of the colors in another place, such as shutters, doors or roofing.

Though standard 4”, 5” or 6” horizontal vinyl siding (which comes in numerous colors) is common throughout the shore, an option for the front or select areas, is Cedar Impressions or other brands of architectural siding. This siding comes in numerous patterns and colors and is thicker and more solid than regular vinyl siding, which creates much more definition. However, it is 3-4 times as expensive as regular siding, so commonly it is used on the front of the house or in select places (such as in front of a gable roof) as an accent. Again, colors can match the siding on the rest of the house, or be a shade or 2 off, to create a more noticeable accent to your existing design.

An important point to remember is that since these choices are aesthetic (and not structural, mechanical or required by code), they are dependent solely on your taste. There is no definitive right or wrong choice. At the end of the day, you must enjoy your choice on the outside of your house and be comfortable with it, so choose something that will please you every day when you come home.

August 16th Dream Homes Rebuilding Seminar – Review and commentary: On Wednesday, August 16th, we held our summer Rebuilding Seminar and (as always) it was a great success. Our speakers were excellent and offered a ton of information on numerous topics, from elevations to project scope to options for rebuilding with stick construction or modular. Thanks to all our speakers as well as those of you who joined us live or watched us on Facebook Live. If you missed the seminar, you can view it on our Facebook page, here on the blog or on YouTube. If you couldn’t attend in person or online, details about our October seminar are in the next paragraph.

Nearly Famous Rebuilding Seminar –Wednesday October 11th, 2017 – See us in person and or watch us on Facebook Live!

Our next Rebuilding Seminar will be held Wednesday October 11th, 2017 from 6 pm at the Tuscan Bar and Grill on Hooper Avenue in Toms River, across from the Ocean County Mall. We’ll be joined by Kathleen Dotoli, Esquire, Jason Devooght (Devooght House Lifters) and one of our architects or engineers. We’ll also be streaming it on Facebook Live and be online if you want to email questions or comments while the seminar is under way. We had over 50 people join us on Facebook at the last seminar and were able to take questions from people who couldn’t make it to the seminar, which was an excellent addition to our program.

If you are planning a project, whether a new home, elevation or renovation, and you haven’t already attended one of our seminars, make sure you attend for helpful information from our excellent speakers. It will help you get started on the right track. We focus on homeowners that are early in the rebuilding process, and haven’t completed design work, or chosen a builder or architect.

We’ll talk about architectural and engineering planning, construction technique, RREM guidance, help with choosing the right builder and consumer safety cautions when dealing with him (or her), financing your project, comments and tips about home elevation in general. We also talk about RREM issues, (the lunacy of) managing your own project, and ways to avoid delays and going over budget. So, mark the date and call 609 693 8881 or 732 300 5619 to reserve your space if you want to attend. Refreshments will be served and space is limited.

Repeat – Partial – Change Orders & Additions to your Scope (Chaos Systems deleted): Once again we’ll talk about change orders and the resulting inevitable delays. We skip the part about Chaos Systems, which you can go back and review in the 8/11/17 blog.

First, it’s common when renovating or even building a new home, to want to add items or make changes to what’s already been decided. It’s sometimes impossible (especially with elevations and renovations) to visualize exactly what your home will look like in 3 dimensions from a plan and as your project progresses, it’s natural to want to tinker with the scope of work.

There is nothing at all wrong with making changes or additions while under construction. I mention this point because many builders will not accept change orders once a project has begun. Many charge per change order.

Every step in a construction project is subject to many random variables. These include tool and equipment breakdown, delay in supplies being delivered, sickness and other tragedy, and township inspection or review delays, among many other factors. However, the single most common reason for delay in any project is changes made during the process.

Changes cost money and inevitably cause delays. The cost portion is easily understood but the delay aspect is something many homeowners don’t realize when they make changes. Changing a single item in a residential project usually affects 3-5 other items which may not be immediately evident. An average change, depending on complexity, will add a week or more to a schedule. Structural and mechanical changes may add a month.

Adding a door requires a new header of the door, a new switch and exterior light, possibly new stairs to the ground and a concrete or paver pad outside the door.

Installing 5 more outlets in a basement requires a permit update, a new breaker in the electrical panel, a new electrical schematic for the township and a site survey to determine possible conflict with other mechanical or structural components.

Deciding to add 3 courses of block to a foundation requires a new plot plan, a new engineering plan and submission of both, sheetrock under the floor, additional lights and an additional smoke detector (with electrical plan update) and a larger door to the crawl/basement.

You get the idea.

Suffice to say that all changes in your project will affect other items and will cause delay.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with changes if you understand that delays to the overall project are an inherent part of the process.

These are some thoughts to consider when thinking of adding to your project.

Decks, more decks and railing…Decks are one of the more popular improvements and one of the easiest ways to add value to your home. Decks fall into 3 main categories – pressure treated, composite and fiberglass. Railings can be pressure treated, vinyl rail or glass.

Permit fees, Design & Hiring Your Own Architect: Generally, permit fees are paid by the homeowner, since they can’t usually be determined at the start of a project. Design & architectural fees are usually itemized separately and are (for us) a pass-through cost. In other words, we oversee the entire design process and it costs our clients the same (usually much less) amount of money than if the homeowner deals with the architect directly. This also results in significant savings in both construction design and redesign fees. Remember – the personwho is going to build theproject should be involved in the design from inception, so practical best practices can be designed in from the start.

New Beach Bungalow on your lot from $89,800!! See last 2 blogs for more detail. Note: This model is perfect for many small lots in the shore area including Ocean Beach, Lavallette, Ortley and South Seaside Park.

Most general contractors and builders are unwilling to provide turn-key elevation/renovation projects. It’s messy, requires diverse skill sets and deep administrative support and places all responsibility for everything directly on the builder’s shoulders. Dream Homes regularly perform turn-key renovation and design build projects and will remain as one of the best, solid companies in the years to come.

Why does this matter to you? If a company isn’t committed to being in the line of work for which you are contracting, they will not support it correctly during and after the project. That means less resources (personnel and otherwise) devoted to your project. Currently at Dream Homes, we’ve been actively hiring carpenters, helpers, marketing and support staff for 2 years. We’re committed to the elevation /renovation business and improve every single day – our commitment to provide additional, better resources to our clients is ongoing.

Moral of the story: Try and avoid working with any company not committed to the type of project you are undertaking. Ask to see current projects in process or being started.

Need to Phone a Friend? Need a Rescue? 2017 Scheduling & Priority projects – If you’re stuck in a stalled project for whatever reason (contractor in jail or indicted, bankrupt, lazy, inept, no money, etc.) we’ll help you with a prompt evaluation of your situation. We do consultation and estimates immediately for projects that are stuck. It doesn’t change what happened to you in the past, but at least you’ll know how to get back on track, without chasing someone for a month to get an initial meeting and written estimate. As a note, often we’re the only company willing to finish projects that have been abandoned.

New Dream Homes Modular Division – Design, Kitchen & Bath Studio –

Come see our Dream Homes Jersey Proud Custom Modular design studio at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point, with complete kitchen, flooring & modular home design studio. See Lou Obsuth, who has a wealth of experience in modular construction as well as kitchen and bath design.

Kathleen M. Dotoli, Esquire – Consumer Protection: Kathleen is a workers’ compensation and disability attorney in Toms River and speaks regularly at our Rebuilding Seminar. Kathy gives an excellent presentation about consumer protection that will save you money and grief. (Next one is Wednesday, October 11th, 2017). Email Kathy at kmdotoli611@aol.com or call her office at 732 228 7534 for a copy of her seminar presentation.

Mission Statement and Comment: At Dream Homes, we’ll help you when no one else will. We regularly handle messy and unpleasant real estate, construction and renovation situations. We do the projects that few other people can do, and help people finish and get back in their homes. If you’re stuck and can’t figure out how to proceed, call us and we’ll do our best to help you.

At Dream Homes, we believe that taking on difficult unpopular projects is part of the social contract we have with the community and the Jersey Shore. We’ve never abandoned a client or failed to finish a project – we feel very strongly that it is our obligation to help Sandsters and others in need.

Remember – if you have a specific question, send me an email or a text. Don’t wait for a seminar or a site visit to clarify a point. Whether you are a Dream Homes client or not, I’ll always try and help you or guide you in the right direction. If you’ve sent an email or left a voice mail and haven’t received a response, try and contact me again. Messages are lost occasionally.

Note to Sandsters: Though I write this blog and hold the seminars to help guide homeowners through the maze that is any reconstruction project, Dream Homes does what I write about. Dream Homes & Development Corp. and Dream Building LLC are new home builders and general contractors who are actively renovating and reconstructing projects up and down the shore. We supervise and manage elevation projects & house moves, demolish and build new homes, and develop and build entire new neighborhoods. In the past 23 years, we’ve completed over 1500 new homes, 190 elevation projects and 500,000 square feet of commercial buildings. 28 of our elevation projects have been rescue projects, where we came in to save a homeowner when someone else left. Dream builds new homes, demolishes existing damaged homes, elevates and move homes, complete additions and renovations and rescues homeowners when their other contractors abandon them. We work with private clients as well as Path B clients in the RREM program. Call, text or email to set up an appointment for a free estimate on your rebuilding project.

That’s all for today Sandsters. I hope my words helps you move forward. As always, call or write with any questions.

Today I have some helpful items for you. Change orders in chaos systems like elevation projects and the inherent delays are discussed in more detail. We remind you about our next Rebuilding Seminar which is this Wednesday, August 16th, live at Tuscan Bistro and streamed on the internet on Facebook Live. We talk about the Toms River Home Show on October 28 & 29th at the Pine Belt Arena in Toms River, where we’ll be exhibiting.

I again included the article on decks & rail from last week’s blog since we received a lot of positive response, affects almost everyone and was helpful to many people. Finally, we again mention our new Dream Homes Jersey Proud Design Center at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant, where you can see modular home plans, kitchens, baths, flooring and tons of fixtures.

Nearly Famous Rebuilding Seminar – This Wednesday August 16th, 2017

See us in person and or watch us on Facebook Live!

Our next Rebuilding Seminar will be held this Wednesday August 16th, 2017 from 6 pm at the Tuscan Bar and Grill on Hooper Avenue in Toms River, across from the Ocean County Mall. We’ll be joined by Kathleen Dotoli, Esquire, Jason Devooght (Devooght House Lifters) and Scott Lepley, architect. We’ll also be streaming it on Facebook Live and be online if you want to email questions or comments while the seminar is under way. We had over 30 people join us on Facebook at the last seminar and were able to take questions from people who couldn’t make it to the seminar, which was an excellent addition to our program.

If you are planning a project, whether a new home, elevation or renovation, make sure you attend for helpful information from our excellent speakers. It will help you get started on the right track. We focus on homeowners that are early in the rebuilding process, and haven’t completed design work, or chosen a builder or architect.

We’ll talk about architectural and engineering planning, construction technique, RREM guidance, help with choosing the right builder and consumer safety cautions when dealing with him, financing your project, comments and tips about home elevation and finally advice on how to buy a new home or sell your existing one. We also talk about RREM issues, (the lunacy of) managing your own project, the money builders really make on your project and ways to avoid delays and going over budget.

So, mark the date and call 609 693 8881 or 732 300 5619 to reserve your space if you want to attend. Refreshments will be served and space is limited.

Permit fees, Design & Hiring Your Own Architect: Generally, permit fees are paid by the homeowner, since they can’t usually be determined at the start of a project. Design & architectural fees are usually itemized separately and are (for us) a pass-through cost. In other words, we oversee the entire design process and it costs our clients the same (usually much less) amount of money than if the homeowner deals with the architect directly. This also results in significant savings in both construction design and redesign fees. Remember – the personwho is going to build theproject should be involved in the design from inception, so practical best practices can be designed in from the start.

Perspective and Sanity: (Partial repeat – See last blog): I’ve written about this subject many times in the past, but as with many simple concepts, it bears repeating. Simply put, issues that come up during the construction of your project are not worth losing your mind, health or sanity over. These issues include delays, code changes, additions made during your project and any other unknown occurrence that may cause you stress.

First, it’s common when renovating or even building a new home, to want to add items or make changes to what’s already been decided. It’s sometimes impossible (especially with elevations and renovations) to visualize exactly what your home will look like in 3 dimensions from a plan and as your project progresses, it’s natural to want to tinker with the scope of work.

There is nothing at all wrong with making changes or additions while under construction. I mention this point because many builders will not accept change orders once a project has begun. Many charge per change order.

Second, it’s very important to accept that any building project larger than a deck or a bathroom remodel, is by its nature, a chaos system.

Chaos systems have many moving parts. There are separate, distinct categories, some of which move in a linear, critical path manner (when Step 2 can’t happen before Step 1 is completed) and some of which progress independently and can occur concurrently while other parts of the project are progressing.

Every step is subject to many random variables. These include tool and equipment breakdown, delay in supplies being delivered, sickness and other tragedy, and township inspection or review delays, among many other factors. However, the single most common reason for delay in any chaos system is changes made during the process (at least in a chaos system). A chaos system is affected in numerous ways by a single change.

(This is otherwise known as the Butterfly Effect, where a butterfly flaps it’s wings in China and we have a hurricane in Los Angeles).

So, what’s the moral of the story?

Changes cost money and inevitably cause delays. The cost portion is easily understood but the delay aspect is something most homeowners do not realize when they make changes. Changing a single item in a residential project usually affects 3-5 other items which may not be immediately evident. An average change, depending on complexity, will add a week or more to a schedule. Structural and mechanical changes can add a month.

Adding a door requires a new header of the door, a new switch and exterior light, possibly new stairs to the ground and a concrete or paver pad outside the door.

Installing 5 more outlets in a basement requires a permit update, a new breaker in the electrical panel, a new electrical schematic for the township and a site survey to determine possible conflict with other mechanical or structural components.

Deciding to add 3 courses of block to a foundation requires a new plot plan, a new engineering plan and submission of both, sheetrock under the floor, additional lights and an additional smoke detector (with electrical plan update) and a larger door to the crawl/basement.

You get the idea.

Suffice to say that all changes in your project will affect other items and will cause delay.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with changes if you understand that delays to the overall project are an inherent part of the process.

There are some thoughts to consider when considering changes.

About Dream Homes: Dream Homes & Development Corp. (OTCOB: Ticker DREM) is a publicly traded, fully reporting (audited) company with main offices in Forked River and a Modular Design Center in Point Pleasant. We’re the only public company doing home elevation work in New Jersey. Please view us online – if you like us and believe in what we’re doing, we would love to have you as shareholders. For more information and an information package, contact Matt Chipman, our investor relations person. Matt can be reached at (818)923-5302, (310) 709-5646 or matt@GreenChipIR.com. You can view our operational results and financials at any time at www.sec.gov.

Decks, more decks and railing…Decks are one of the more popular improvements and one of the easiest ways to add value to your home. Decks fall into 3 main categories – pressure treated, composite and fiberglass. Railings can be pressure treated, vinyl rail or glass.

Pressure treated decks and rails are the most economical but require a certain amount of maintenance (or not) to keep the appearance constant. Or not (if you’re like me). Maintenance is simple and involves applying Thompson’s Water Shield or some other preservative once every few years. P/T decks are also subject to shrinking, swelling and fading. You should expect to pay somewhere in the range of $40 – $50 per square foot, including footings, framing, decking and rails. Add an additional $5 per square foot for vinyl rail instead of pressure treated.

Composite decking (Trex or other) with vinyl rail are easily the most popular choice over the last decade or so. We’ve become a maintenance free society, we’re aging as a populace and few people want to bother keeping up with the maintenance a pressure treated deck requires. Composite decking comes in many colors and brands – just the Trex brand alone has 3 product lines, with the Transcend line being very high end and including wood grains and exotic colors. All styles are installed with hidden hangers so no nails can be seen (except for stairs). Expect to pay between $50 – $60 per square foot, including footings, framing, decking and rails. Add an additional $3-$5 per square foot for upgraded styles and quality levels, instead of entry level composite decking.

Fiberglass decking is the choice when you want to create a waterproof space under the deck. It’s very useful to create outside patio space where you can linger when it’s raining. It does get hot and eventually must be gel coated after 5-7 years as it may start to crack in places. It comes in many colors. Installation is much more complicated, since a solid floor must be built, the floor must have a pitch for water runoff, and the fiberglass itself is installed in a 3-stage process. The price difference for fiberglass alone is $12 – $15 per square foot, and other than omitting the decking, all other framing is the same. Fiberglass is usually not done on stairs. Expect to pay between $60 – $70 per square foot, including footings, framing, decking and rails.

Railing generally falls into 3 categories – pressure treated, vinyl and glass or wire. Vinyl is the most popular choice and is most often paired with composite decking. Glass is increasingly popular and can be used selectively (for cost savings) for areas facing the water. Expect to pay $60 – $70 a running (linear) foot extra for glass rail. Vinyl and pressure treated railing are generally included in the prices I listed above, but are generally $45 – $65 and $25 – $35 a linear foot, respectively is priced separately from the deck costs.

New Beach Bungalow on your lot from $89,800!! See last 2 blogs for more detail. Note: This model is perfect for many small lots in the shore area including Ocean Beach, Lavallette, Ortley and South Seaside Park.

Most general contractors and builders are unwilling to provide turn-key elevation/renovation projects. It’s messy, requires diverse skill sets and deep administrative support and places all responsibility for everything directly on the builder’s shoulders. Dream Homes regularly perform turn-key renovation and design build projects and will remain as one of the best, solid companies in the years to come.

Why does this matter to you? If a company isn’t committed to being in the line of work for which you are contracting, they will not support it correctly during and after the project. That means less resources (personnel and otherwise) devoted to your project. Currently at Dream Homes, we’ve been actively hiring carpenters, helpers, marketing and support staff for 2 years. We’re committed to the elevation /renovation business and improve every single day – our commitment to provide additional, better resources to our clients is ongoing.

Moral of the story: Try and avoid working with any company not committed to the type of project you are undertaking. Ask to see current projects in process or being started.

Need to Phone a Friend? Need a Rescue? 2017 Scheduling & Priority projects – If you’re stuck in a stalled project for whatever reason (contractor in jail or indicted, bankrupt, lazy, inept, no money, etc.) we’ll help you with a prompt evaluation of your situation. We do consultation and estimates immediately for projects that are stuck. It doesn’t change what happened to you in the past, but at least you’ll know how to get back on track, without chasing someone for a month to get an initial meeting and written estimate. As a note, often we’re the only company willing to finish projects that have been abandoned.

New Dream Homes Modular Division – Design, Kitchen & Bath Studio –

Come see our Dream Homes Jersey Proud Custom Modular design studio at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point, with complete kitchen, flooring & modular home design studio. See Lou Obsuth, who has a wealth of experience in modular construction as well as kitchen and bath design.

Kathleen M. Dotoli, Esquire – Consumer Protection: Kathleen is a workers’ compensation and disability attorney in Toms River and speaks regularly at our Rebuilding Seminar. Kathy gives an excellent presentation about consumer protection that will save you money and grief. (Next one is Wednesday, August 16th, 2017). Email Kathy at kmdotoli611@aol.com or call her office at 732 228 7534 for a copy of her seminar presentation.

Mission Statement and Comment: At Dream Homes, we’ll help you when no one else will. We regularly handle messy and unpleasant real estate, construction and renovation situations. We do the projects that few other people can do, and help people finish and get back in their homes. If you’re stuck and can’t figure out how to proceed, call us and we’ll do our best to help you.

At Dream Homes, we believe that taking on difficult unpopular projects is part of the social contract we have with the community and the Jersey Shore. We’ve never abandoned a client or failed to finish a project – we feel very strongly that it is our obligation to help Sandsters and others in need.

Remember – if you have a specific question, send me an email or a text. Don’t wait for a seminar or a site visit to clarify a point. Whether you are a Dream Homes client or not, I’ll always try and help you or guide you in the right direction. If you’ve sent an email or left a voice mail and haven’t received a response, try and contact me again. Messages are lost occasionally.

Note to Sandsters: Though I write this blog and hold the seminars to help guide homeowners through the maze that is any reconstruction project, Dream Homes does what I write about. Dream Homes & Development Corp. and Dream Building LLC are new home builders and general contractors who are actively renovating and reconstructing projects up and down the shore. We supervise and manage elevation projects & house moves, demolish and build new homes, and develop and build entire new neighborhoods. In the past 23 years, we’ve completed over 1500 new homes, 190 elevation projects and 500,000 square feet of commercial buildings. 28 of our elevation projects have been rescue projects, where we came in to save a homeowner when someone else left. Dream builds new homes, demolishes existing damaged homes, elevates and move homes, complete additions and renovations and rescues homeowners when their other contractors abandon them. We work with private clients as well as Path B clients in the RREM program. Call, text or email to set up an appointment for a free estimate on your rebuilding project.

That’s all for today Sandsters. I hope my words helps you move forward. As always, call or write with any questions.

Dream Homes and Development Corp.

Dream Building LLC.

Atlantic Northeast Construction LLC

Nearly Famous Rebuilding Blog –

8-4-17

Hello Sandsters –

I hope today finds you well and enjoying your summer. Since I am unable to write short blogs, I have given up on that illusion and am now writing until I feel satisfied. Just acknowledging that is like a mental weight off my shoulders…😊😊 the first step is acknowledging you have a problem…

Today I have some helpful items for you. We discuss our Beach Bungalow model, a delightful compact model starting at $89,800. We talk about maintaining perspective and not losing your mind while building. We let you know about our next Rebuilding Seminar on August 16th, which is being held live at Tuscan Bistro and streamed on Facebook Live. We talk about the Toms River Home Show on October 28 & 29th at the Pine Belt Arena in Toms River, where we’ll be exhibiting. Different types of decks and their costs are discussed.

Finally, we again mention our new Dream Homes Jersey Proud Design Center at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant, where you can see modular home plans, kitchens, baths, flooring and tons of fixtures.

New Beach Bungalow on your lot from $89,800!! Our new Beach Bungalow Model starts at $89,800 and offers 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, loft, laundry and cathedral ceilings in 560 square feet. You’re welcome to drive by 30 E Kingfisher in the Ocean Beach III section of Toms River and see the house. For those of you thinking of designing a new home, we’ve introduced this new model last year to fit in a very small footprint (26’ wide x 20’ deep). We can adapt it to fit on other small lots.

Author’s note: Cost/Benefit – Elevate vs: build new & When to Spend Money: The Beach Bungalow is perfect if you are in a great location and your house is a 40-50-year old bungalow on a slab that must be raised. It’s much more economical and energy efficient to demolish an old slab foundation house and build new, as opposed to elevating and renovating an old house. Send me an email if you’d like to see this plan, and we also have 200 other plans to choose from, all of which can be altered to suit your requirements.

Is it worth it? Cost / benefit discussed in detail: One of the most common questions we all face when renovating, rebuilding or investing in real estate is the fundamental question of whether a particular portion of a project is worth doing. A good way to determine where to spend your money is to initially decide if the improvement is a vanity or essential addition to your project. Vanity improvements make you happy and add to your quality of life, but may or may not add incremental value to your home. These types of improvements include expensive tile, finishes, kitchens or landscaping, where the cost is greater than a middle of the road improvement. An example is spending $30 a square foot on tile you love (versus $2 per square foot), spending $40,000 on a kitchen and new counters when you could spend $10,000, or spending $20,000 on landscaping and plantings versus $5,000. These items do not add value to your house to the extent that they are in excess of base cost. You should include them in your project scope only if they give you specific and definable enjoyment, and you should not expect to recoup these costs when you sell. No one (or only a select number of people) cares about your $30 per square foot Italian marble, or exotic landscaping, unless they happen to share the same tastes as you.

Essential or valuable improvements undeniably add value to your home and include new kitchens, baths, new decks, full height elevations and elevators (or elevator shafts). These items add a dollar for dollar (or more) value to your real estate, and can be recaptured when you sell, as well as adding to your quality of life and enjoyment every day. Their value is also relatively easy to quantify.

Simply being aware of the difference and considering an improvement in this manner helps you decide whether the money is worth spending.

Nearly Famous Rebuilding Seminar – Wednesday August 16th, 2017 – In person and on Facebook Live!

Our next Rebuilding Seminar will be held Wednesday August 16th, 2017 from 6 pm at the Tuscan Bar and Grill on Hooper Avenue in Toms River, across from the Ocean County Mall. We’ll be joined by Kathleen Dotoli, Esquire, Jason Devooght (Devooght House Lifters) and Scott Lepley, architect, and all give very informative presentations. We’ll also be streaming it on Facebook Live and be online if you want to email questions or comments while the seminar is under way. We had over 30 people join us on Facebook at the last seminar and were able to take questions from people who couldn’t make it to the seminar, which was an excellent addition to our program.

If you are planning a project, whether a new home, elevation or renovation, make sure you attend for helpful information from our excellent speakers. It will help you get started on the right track. We focus on homeowners that are early in the rebuilding process, and haven’t completed design work, or chosen a builder or architect.

Topics covered will include architectural and engineering planning, construction technique, RREM guidance, help with choosing the right builder and consumer safety cautions when dealing with him, advice on financing your project, comments and tips about home elevation and finally advice on how to buy a new home or sell your existing one. We also talk about RREM issues, (the lunacy of) managing your own project, the money builders really make on your project and ways to avoid delays and going over budget.

So, mark the date and call 732 300 5619 to reserve your space if you want to attend. Refreshments will be served and space is limited.

Perspective and Sanity: I’ve written about this subject many times in the past, but as with money basic concepts, it bears repeating. Simply put, issues that come up during the construction of your project are not worth losing your mind or sanity over. These issues include delays, code changes, additions made during your project and any other unknown occurrence that may cause you stress.

To maintain your sanity, preserve your marriage or relationship and live through your project without having a heart attack, it is important to keep everything in perspective.

If you and your family wake up in the morning looking down at the grass (instead of up at the grass) and are healthy, not much else matters. Without exception, there is nothing that happens during a construction project that is worth angst or domestic unrest.

Changes and delays are not tragedies – war, pestilence, disease, car accidents, civil unrest, and having a President who is a Twitter addict are all tragedies. Reserve your angst and concern for matters that merit that degree of worry. Don’t stress if your project is delayed because you added a floor in your garage or inspections (in Brick, Toms River, Manahawkin, or Little Egg) are inexplicably delayed. It’s not worth it. If you and your family are healthy, don’t sweat the small stuff. Remember that we still live in the greatest country in the world where we are free, enjoy public utilities, no one is standing around on the streets with machine guns or kidnapping people off the streets and by and large our society is stable. Without exception, when you find yourself getting upset over an unforeseen occurrence during your project, step back and look at it in perspective. Minor issues are minor issues and will pass. Nothing happening in residential construction is worth having a heart attack over.

A good rule of thumb is as follows: If an issue can be fixed with money or time, it’s not a problem. If it can’t be addressed with money, it is a real issue and merits your time and concern.

Common sense words to the wise, Sandsters. Heed them and you’ll sleep better.

About Dream Homes …as a reminder, Dream Homes & Development Corp. (OTCOB: Ticker DREM) is a publicly traded, fully reporting (audited) company. We’re the only public company doing home elevation work in New Jersey. Please view us online – if you like us and believe in what we’re doing, we would love to have you as shareholders. For more information and an information package, contact Matt Chipman, our investor relations person. Matt can be reached at (818)923-5302, (310) 709-5646 or matt@GreenChipIR.com. You can view our operational results and financials at any time at www.sec.gov.

Decks, more decks and railing…Decks are one of the more popular improvements and one of the easiest ways to add value to your home. They can be reasonably priced and can also run to tens of thousands depending on complexity. Decks fall into 3 main categories – pressure treated, composite and fiberglass. Railings can be pressure treated, vinyl rail, glass or wire.

Pressure treated decks and rails are the most economical but require a certain amount of maintenance (or not) to keep the appearance constant. Or not (if you’re like me). Maintenance is simple and involves applying Thompson’s Water Shield or some other preservative once every few years. P/T decks are also subject to shrinking, swelling and fading. You should expect to pay somewhere in the range of $40 – $50 per square foot, including footings, framing, decking and rails. Add an additional $5 per square foot for vinyl rail instead of pressure treated.

Composite decking (Trex or other) with vinyl rail are easily the most popular choice over the last decade or so. We’ve become a maintenance free society, we’re aging as a populace and few people want to bother keeping up with the maintenance a pressure treated deck requires. Composite decking comes in many colors and brands – just the Trex brand alone has 3 product lines, with the Transcend line being very high end and including wood grains and exotic colors. All styles are installed with hidden hangers so no nails can be seen (except for stairs). Expect to pay between $50 – $60 per square foot, including footings, framing, decking and rails. Add an additional $3-$5 per square foot for upgraded styles and quality levels, instead of entry level composite decking.

Fiberglass decking is the choice when you want to create a waterproof space under the deck. It’s very useful to create outside patio space where you can linger when it’s raining. It does get hot and eventually must be gel coated after 5-7 years as it may start to crack in places. It comes in many colors. Installation is much more complicated, since a solid floor must be built, the floor must have a pitch for water runoff, and the fiberglass itself is installed in a 3-stage process. The price difference for fiberglass alone is $12 – $15 per square foot, and other than omitting the decking, all other framing is the same. Fiberglass is usually not done on stairs. Expect to pay between $60 – $70 per square foot, including footings, framing, decking and rails.

Railing generally falls into 3 categories – pressure treated, vinyl and glass or wire. Vinyl is the most popular choice and is most often paired with composite decking. Glass is increasingly popular and can be used selectively (for cost savings) for areas facing the water. Expect to pay $60 – $70 a running (linear) foot extra for glass rail. Vinyl and pressure treated railing are generally included in the prices I listed above, but are generally $45 – $65 and $25 – $35 a linear foot, respectively is priced separately from the deck costs.

Why are building and general contracting companies getting out of the elevation/renovation business? That’s a simple answer. It’s difficult, unpredictable, time and resource consuming, complicated, fraught with change orders, and unknown, unforeseen circumstances. On top of all that it requires a greater amount of personnel than any other line of construction. The business involves building custom homes one after another with blue prints that are being written as you advance, filled with jack-in-the-box surprises. Few companies want to do residential turn key elevation projects anymore – new homes and commercial construction are immensely easier.

I predicted this occurrence 4 years ago – fly by night contractors are gone (for the most part) and real companies are making measured decisions whether to engage in this line of business. Many are opting out for the reasons above.

In addition, most general contractors and builders are unwilling to provide turn-key elevation/renovation projects. It’s messy, requires diverse skill sets and deep administrative support and places all responsibility for everything directly on the builder’s shoulders. Dream Homes regularly perform turn-key renovation and design build projects and will remain as one of the best, solid companies in the years to come.

Why does this matter to you? If a company isn’t committed to being in the line of work for which you are contracting, they will not support it correctly during and after the project. That means less resources (personnel and otherwise) devoted to your project. Currently at Dream Homes, we’ve been actively hiring carpenters, helpers, marketing and support staff for 2 years. We’re committed to the elevation /renovation business and improve every single day – our commitment to provide additional, better resources to our clients is ongoing.

Moral of the story: Try and avoid working with any company not committed to the type of project you are undertaking. Ask to see current projects being started.

Notes – Permit fees, Design & Hiring Your Own Architect: Generally, permit fees are paid by the homeowner, since they can’t usually be determined at the start of a project. Design & architectural fees are usually itemized separately and are (for us) a pass-through cost. In other words, we oversee the entire design process and it costs our clients the same (usually much less) amount of money than if the homeowner deals with the architect directly. This also results in significant savings in both construction design and redesign fees. Remember – the personwho is going to build theproject should be involved in the design from inception, so practical best practices can be designed in from the start.

Need to Phone a Friend? Need a Rescue? 2017 Scheduling & Priority projects – If you’re stuck in a stalled project for whatever reason (contractor in jail or indicted, bankrupt, lazy, inept, no money, etc.) we’ll help you with a prompt evaluation of your situation. We do consultation and estimates immediately for projects that are stuck. It doesn’t change what happened to you in the past, but at least you’ll know how to get back on track, without chasing someone for a month to get an initial meeting and written estimate. As a note, often we’re the only company willing to finish projects that have been abandoned.

New Dream Homes Modular Division – Design, Kitchen & Bath Studio –

Come see our Dream Homes Jersey Proud Custom Modular design studio at 2109 Bridge Avenue in Point, with complete kitchen, flooring & modular home design studio. See Lou Obsuth, who has a wealth of experience in modular construction as well as kitchen and bath design.

Kathleen M. Dotoli, Esquire – Consumer Protection: Kathleen is a workers’ compensation and disability attorney in Toms River and speaks regularly at our Rebuilding Seminar. Kathy gives an excellent presentation about consumer protection that will save you money and grief. (Next one is Wednesday, August 16th, 2017). Email Kathy at kmdotoli611@aol.com or call her office at 732 228 7534 for a copy of her seminar presentation.

Mission Statement and Comment: At Dream Homes, we’ll help you when no one else will. We regularly handle messy and unpleasant real estate, construction and renovation situations. We do the projects that few other people can do, and help people finish and get back in their homes. If you’re stuck and can’t figure out how to proceed, call us and we’ll do our best to help you.

At Dream Homes, we believe that taking on difficult unpopular projects is part of the social contract we have with the community and the Jersey Shore. We’ve never abandoned a client or failed to finish a project – we feel very strongly that it is our obligation to help Sandsters and others in need.

Click on the link above or call us and we’ll send you a blank scope of work for your reference.

Yeah, We Do That for You… This was an excellent (if I do say so myself) article from the 1/8/17 blog, which received much positive response from many people. If you missed it, go back and read it now at

Remember – if you have a specific question, send me an email or a text. Don’t wait for a seminar or a site visit to clarify a point. Whether you are a Dream Homes client or not, I’ll always try and help you or guide you in the right direction. If you’ve sent an email or left a voice mail and haven’t received a response, try and contact me again. Messages are lost occasionally.

Note to Sandsters: Though I write this blog and hold the seminars to help guide homeowners through the maze that is any reconstruction project, Dream Homes does what I write about. Dream Homes & Development Corp. and Dream Building LLC are new home builders and general contractors who are actively renovating and reconstructing projects up and down the shore. We supervise and manage elevation projects & house moves, demolish and build new homes, and develop and build entire new neighborhoods. In the past 23 years, we’ve completed over 1500 new homes, 190 elevation projects and 500,000 square feet of commercial buildings. 28 of our elevation projects have been rescue projects, where we came in to save a homeowner when someone else left. Dream builds new homes, demolishes existing damaged homes, elevates and move homes, complete additions and renovations and rescues homeowners when their other contractors abandon them. We work with private clients as well as Path B clients in the RREM program. Call, text or email to set up an appointment for a free estimate on your rebuilding project.

That’s all for today Sandsters. I hope my words helps you move forward. As always, call or write with any questions.